Careful What You Ask For
by OrionTitley
Summary: Inspired by Mistresswinowyll's story, Get What You Wanted. Tsukune is hurt by Moka which opens up a chance to change his life. First arc is finished, working on the second.
1. Chapter 1 An Unwelcome Guest

**A/N; Inspired by MitressWinowyll's story, Get What You Wanted.**** This Intoroductory Arc may seem similar to DarkSwordMage's version at first, however it will diverge quickly. The Tsukune in this version is more of a balance between the two stories, personally, I don't think Tsukune's nature would allow him to be so...angry unless there was something deeper to it, nor do i think he would be so likely to avoid the situation like what MistressWinnowyll presented. Both Authors present great versions of the idea that you should read before (or alongside) this. I have yet to read the the other versions on this site and will be doing so rather quickly to avoid too much similarities to another author's work (within reason; writing the same basic story, there are only so many ways you can diverge in certain areas) I simply wish to present yet another possible outcome of the events presented in the first chapter of those stories.**

**A/N 2; Edited begining somewhat, realzing it was EXTREMELY similar to the original story's beginning... whoops.**

Aono Moka turned to Tsukune one last time, her eyes pleading hopefully that he would surrender to the moment and just agree with her demands. There were lines in the sand that were all but ready to be crossed.

He never knew he could hear the sound of his heart break with the sound of a door opening after he shook his head.

"Good evening, Gin-sempai." Moka announced cheerily, her head cocked to the side and her hair draped freely over one shoulder. She nervously presented herself with one foot tapping the toe of her black heels against the floor as Gin warm brown eyes appraised her with restrained desire.

The tempted grin on his lips was never false when he presented himself to her every single time. Only he and a select few could wear a black silk shirt with three buttons on and make it look dashing and romantic. He had come prepared for an evening with his most desired prospect, but tonight the dark haired werewolf in human form had no idea what he had gotten himself into. Casually, he let his eyes wander over her, shamelessly taking in the way her svelte body was openly on display with such a snug fitting top and long length of toned legs for him to admire.

"It sure is," Gin offered her a single pink rose. When she took it with a quiet 'thank you', he touched her hand with his other and voiced warmly, "I must say I am surprised at you calling me out of the blue like this. You and Tsukune have been at each other necks lately. I hope he hasn't left you all alone for some handsome and ill reputable man to come and take you."

When she looked away with her cheeks tinted red, it took Gin a moment to realize he wasn't the only man in the room.

Tsukune's dark brown eyes took in the whole scene silently. So quietly, in fact, Gin had not even realized he was there and Moka had made no pretense to show she cared.

"Moka," Gin sighed in exasperation, getting ready to leave with a shift in his posture, "I told you once and I'm not going to tell you again. Don't use me to make Tsukune jeal-mph!"

Pink haired Moka didn't even give Gin a chance to finish. Reaching up on her toes, she tilted her chin up and kissed him as she had Tsukune so many times. He could see her body react to his touches, the way her breasts mash against his chest and the way her cheeks flushed when they parted.

Gin slowly exhaled, his hand cupping the side of Moka's face. "I'm so glad you realized how much better I am for you, Moka-chan. I am curious, though, why like this? Why now? And why in front of your mate?"

Moka shook her head, even if her eyes were dilated by the very generous kiss he gave her, she looked away shamefully and insecurely at his questions. He had a right to know, but she couldn't really bring herself to say anything else, "If I was to let you father my children, would you keep them away from a human's influence?"

Her sempai blinked at her, then at Tsukune. He had yet to say a word, however there was still his every observant and lucid eyes.

"Is this the reason you called me here, Moka-chan? You and Tsukune are fighting about where your children are going to be raised and how?"

She nodded, her hands clasped in front of her, pleading.

"Tsukune wants them to be involved with his parents, his friends, his neighborhood, but I told him that I don't want them to associate with anything human. I had the worst time in my life when I was younger dealing with them. They didn't understand that they could learn from and respect people better than them, not belittle them and hate them. I won't let my children grow into that! I won't!"

Then Moka added with a heartfelt plea, "If I have your children, though, you must let them be raised around my family and stick to my family's influences."

"Strictly vampires, then?" he looked at her with his eyes narrowed.

"Yes," She nodded her head, her hands folded between her breasts in a beseeching manner.

"Who am I to deny you, Moka-chan?" he reached for her hands, allowing his fingers to brush between the cleft of her breasts, even grazing the rosario as he pulled her close to him. "I've always wanted to give you everything I could. Thank you for allowing me this honor."

They kissed again, easy learning the other's touches, their tastes, and their desire through such private contact.

Tsukune eyes took in everything, offering only that he was aware and very lucid to the happenings of what was once the woman in his life.

When they parted, Moka took Gin's hand into her own, turning to take him to the bedroom, Tsukune's and her bedroom.

Gin couldn't help but toss a triumphant look over his shoulder. "So this is the reason you're going to give up the most beautiful and wonderful girl in the world for? You're really going to let this happen when you can choose to end this right here and now, Tsukune?"

Tsukune's voice was gravelly and soft. "I may not be a human anymore, but that doesn't mean that all humans see monsters as some of us do. I was more than happy to have my children be raised by vampires and learn their ways and customs, however I won't exclude what has made me the person I am today, the person she had fallen in love with and accepted as her mate. I would be lying to myself and to her. No, I won't allow it."

"Then it is chosen. Let's go, Gin." Moka wiped her eyes as she took another man into the bedroom of her and Tsukune's most private place. When she turned to Tsukune, she seemed to offer one last look of hope, one last quiet, regretful plea to don't let her do this, to stop her or do SOMETHING to stop the madness she was about to participate in. When he did nothing, she silently swallowed her hiccupped sob and whispered in a thick, quiet voice.

"Please, help me put an end to a decision Tsukune and I cannot come to grips with."I won't allow him to father them. I don't want a human's mentality to taint the upbringing of the next line of Akashiya. Would you do me the honors?""

Gin nodded while he closed the door behind him, allowing the sliver of light that speared the living room get smaller and smaller till it was nothing.

Tsukune was plunged into darkness, where sounds seem to be clearer.

He wasn't sure if she was asking him to stop her from doing this or that he should have just let her win.

After the door closed to the bedroom, Tsukune moved for the first time. The very air in him felt heavy, his heart felt like everything beautiful and wonderful was being twisted out of him like some sponge torqued. Forcing himself to cross the room and then sit down next to the door, he sat himself there and heard all the things he had never wanted to experience.

Everything was so painfully clear to his ears.

The sound of their lips touching, the sound of the buttons being unbutton, the slide of cloth over limbs and then hitting the floor, the sighs coming out of the woman he loved more than his own after his friend touched her in a certain way, in an intimate way...all of this seemed to reach him through that small bit of wood from the door.

They were not taking their time to get to the purpose of this night.

He was surprised to be aware of when Gin must have first entered his Moka. He could actually imagine the sound of the springs of the bed settling, as if she was on her back and then him positioning himself over her.

Gin murmured gently, warmly, "I've always wanted to make love you, Moka-chan."

Her response was light and polite, "I know, Gin."

And then there was a spasmodic jerk in the springs and Moka's quick intake of breath.

It was at that same moment he felt something had pierced him through his heart, into his very soul and mortally wound him with fire and ice, poison and rage...He could feel something softly snap inside him. It was slow, creeping. He could feel it burn through his mind as it overwhelmed him. Darkness had overtaken him, he allowed it. His senses were inflamed; a sharp edge had been given to everything happening in the bedroom; his wife and his former friend making slow and obviously pleasurable love in the next room. Now though, he had no reservations about what _he_ knew was coming next.

* * *

As he finished laying out the details of his plan in his mind, he heard Moka gasp out and Gin moan heavily. They had finished. He moved to the door and waited.

"Do you think he's still here?" was the first thing he heard. Gin.

"I don't know." Moka's voice came out softly, with just the slightest twinge of nervousness in it.

"Do you want me to check?" Tsukune could hear Moka pulling covers over herself.

"Would you mind?"

"No, not at all."

The sound of them kissing reached him. Footsteps came towards the door, the knob turned, time slowed for Tsukune. As the door opened, Gin turned to Moka and said something. Tsukune removed his seal off his wrist. Demonic energy flooded the apartment, Tsukune morphed into his vampire form, only this time, things were different. The darkness that had overtaken him changed his vampiric body.

He sprouted large wings at first, ripping his shirt open, which quickly pulled back into his body of their own volition. He could feel his body amplify, growing taller and stronger. When the changes finished, he let out a deep breath, cracked his neck to either side and slowly, almost lazily, wrapped his large, clawed hand around Gin's neck and jerked his head into the door frame, quickly rendering the werewolf unconscious. Without a second thought, he grabbed the man by his hair and dragged him into the kitchen. He could hear Moka screaming at him. She had wrapped a sheet around herself and was pulling it along.

To him, in the state he was in, it was all nonsensical. It was annoying. He held out his hand and yelled at her, "Silence!" he could feel a wave of pressure leave him and surround the apartment. He knew not why, but whatever he had just done would buy them as much privacy as they would need. Dropping Gin onto the floor, he reached into the upper cabinet above the counters and pulled out a box of silverware given to them by his mother as a wedding gift, antique sterling silverware. He opened the box and pulled out five butter knives.

Taking the unconscious Gin, he spread eagled him on the floor, face down. The malevolence that had overtaken him, that had planned this out, was being allowed to roam free. Tsukune not only did not want to stop what he knew was coming, but did not think he could. He turned to Moka, pulled a chair with him and sat her down on it. He pulled the sheet off her body, leaving it exposed to the air. She had been franticly pulling at her seal, but to no avail. She looked at him now with tear-filled emerald eyes. Looking deeply into them, he reached down and unlocked her seal. He could feel a blast of energy fill her, her emerald eyes morphing into blood red ones.

When Inner Moka was unlocked, she was nearly blown away by how much power Tsukune held. Ten times-no-a hundred times as much energy was rolling off of him now than she had ever used in her life. He started speaking slowly to her, "I will have you know that this being you see is not your mate. This is the darkness of the blood you have given him. You carried with you a secret passed to you by your mother through her blood. Shinso. He cannot control me as of now. I am merely acting out his anger for him."

"Do not hold this against him. He doesn't want you hurt. The dog will live through this, but will remember his sin for the rest of his life. I would personally prefer if you allowed me to do my part in this without interruption. I do like an audience however. You may continue to watch." The dark chilling voice coming from her husband's body left no room for her to do anything. 'Move, and the dog will not be the only one receiving this punishment,' is what the voice implied.

Moka steeled herself as she saw the monster her husband had become move towards Gin. She watched in removed terror as he took up the first knife and looked it over contemplatively. In a flash quicker than her eye could catch, the monster impaled the knife through Gin's wrist and bent it over locking the wrist in place. The werewolf screamed in pain, the silver in the knife causing most of it.

The monster leaned down and whispered in the werewolf's ear, "Scream all you wish. We have privacy. But do not fight back. I won't hesitate to kill you. Understand?" Gin nodded his head yes against the linoleum. The monster picked up three of the other knives and repeated the process. Another was placed in the other wrist and one in each knee. Picking up the last knife, he chuckled. Looking at Moka, he said one phrase, meant as much for her as Gin. "You are an unwelcome guest in this home. Know your place."

* * *

After what seemed like hours, but was actually only a few minutes, the monster stood up and looked down at his handiwork. The silver knife left deep gouges in the werewolf's back that would never fully heal, unlike most wounds to a werewolf. They would leave terrible scars in his back. 'Know your place' was carved into the flesh. The monster took a deep breath then walked over to where Tsukune had dropped the seal. Placing it back on his wrist, he shrunk back to his normal self. He went into the bedroom and picked out a shirt from the closet, turned, and moved to leave. Before opening the door, he turned to Moka, "I will be at your father's castle explaining the situation to him. I will ask for our blood bond to be absolved." He turned, dropped her seal, and left.

Moka crawled over to an incoherent Gin. She ripped the bent knives out of the floorboards, back through his body, causing him to scream again. Leaning over him she whispered in his ear, "Sleep now. You must heal up." He quickly obliged her. She lifted his unconscious form up and pulled him into the bedroom and covered him. The wounds were already closed on his back, already scarred over in those dark letters. The ones on his wrists and legs had stopped bleeding and weren't far behind. She walked into the bathroom and started drawing a bath. Herbal scents filled the room. She stepped into the water and allowed the warmth to surround her. She placed her head in her hands and started weeping.


	2. Chapter 2 The First Night Apart

Closing the door behind him, the young vampire quickened his pace. He needed to get out of this building, get away from them. Before he knew it, he was outside, breathing cool, fresh air. He stopped and looked around. It was two in the morning. No one was around. He decided to open up his speed and took off across town.

To the passing observer, he would be considered exceedingly fast. He was running at breakneck speeds for a normal human. He wasn't yet breaking a sweat. In only a few dozen minutes, he had crossed town and sat down on a bench in a small park.

He remembered this park. He had taken Moka here several times. His favorite had been in high summer. They had seen an ice cream vendor just a few feet away from where he was currently sitting. He had bought her a large cone and had told her to eat quickly. She didn't of course. The ice cream had quickly melted, dropping a large dollop right on her lap. He had simply laughed at it she had blushed heavily but before long she was laughing as well.

He remembered this now and made his decision. He opened his cell phone and dialed the number he so hated to call. "Oh me oh my, brother dearest, how nice it is to hear from you."

"Hello Ria. I need a pickup. You know that small park across town from my place with the fountain?"

"I'll be there in twenty minutes. If I may ask though, why would you be calling me at this time of night? Did something happen between you and my sister dearest?" Her sickly sweet voice cut through his ears.

"Moka and I had a fight. It ended in a very serious mistake on her part. I-I am looking to absolve our bond."

"Oh me oh my, whatever did she do?" Ria was nearly drooling. She knew that it had been made clear to Tsukune that minor infractions could not be used as an excuse for such an action.

"For now, that's between me, her and Lord Akashyia.

"Alright my dear, I will be there shortly."

Tsukune closed his phone and sat back. While he was waiting, the wind picked up. It was a cold breeze, clearly out of place in midsummer. He stood quickly. The wind continued to pick up and whip around him. The whistling started in his ears. Something was not natural about this. "b..d i..ls" he heard suddenly.

"Who is there?" he yelled to the wind, "What are you saying?"

"Bl..d .ri…s" The wind started picking up faster. The air was starting to pull away from him. Dirt was being lifted into the air, almost like a twister.

"I know someone is there. Show yourself!"

"Blood Trials, DAMNIT! God, how deaf can you be?" a booming voice rang through the park. Black flames burst through the mini twister and immediately dispelled the wind. A lone figure stood at the former center of the winds. Long hair wrapped around the lean figure. As his eyes adjusted back from the flames, he could see it was a woman. She lifted her head up into the glow from the park lights. Emerald green eyes flashed at him, luscious pink hair framing a face he had seen every day for nearly ten years. A whisper escaped his lips, "Moka."

"No Tsukune. Take a closer look." He blinked. The voice was far too deep for outer Moka, more like Inner Moka's. Squinting, he saw that the face belonged to a woman who could be anywhere from 20 to 30 years old, but the eyes. There was a depth to them that he had rarely seen.

"Who are you?" a simple question, but in this case, one that needed answering.

"I am her mother. Akasha."

"No, that can't be. You were taken by Alucard twenty years ago. Lord Akashyia told me as much himself."

"And yet, here I stand. My story is one for another time. Your story is the one that is important here. Yours and my daughter's. I have been watching you for some time now, Aono Tsukune. I have seen some of what you have gone through with my daughter on this night. Tell me, did she break your trust, your respect."

He found himself drawn in by her words, "Yes. She did."

"Did she leave you feeling like a broken man?"

"Yes."

"Did the events tonight break your love for her?"

The question managed to catch him off guard. He looked away from her. Had what she done broken his love? "No." The answer came out despite what he WANTED to say.

"Aono Tsukune, do you believe her to be beyond redemption?"

Again, he had to think about it. "No. But how would she redeem herself? What she did…"

"What she did was inexcusable, unforgettable, but, was it unforgiveable?"

He hesitated again before answering, "No."

"Then, Tsukune, there is a way for her to redeem herself."

"The Blood Trials. What are they?"

"Blood Trials were ancient laws, created for occasions such as this. They were dangerous; mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. They were outlawed close to a thousand years ago because they were so dangerous." She paused and looked off into the distance. "I outlawed them because so many of our kind died because of them. However, the ones to survive were cleared of all crimes."

"Your sister in law will be here shortly. I will not be able to make an appearance until the correct time. Search Issa's library for a secret compartment under the mantle. You will feel a series of buttons. The buttons must be pressed in the correct order for the compartment to open. Inside lies the book you need to help you. I cannot give you any more help. She arrives." Black flames wrapped around her form, and she disappeared.

* * *

"Brother Dearest, oh me oh my, I'm afraid to say that Father is not at his castle. He is away on a meeting in Romania. He should be back the day after tomorrow. Now, how is my little brother doing?"

"Ria, I don't really want to talk about it too much, especially to you. You'll find out soon enough, Moka and I don't need the extra stress."

"Oh, but brother, it has been my lifelong DREAM to see Moka in as much pain as can be inflicted without killing the poor thing."

"Ria. You will stop. Wait until after the meeting with your father. I beat you at your own game once. This time it will be my turn to choose the game, and I will not lose."

"How can you be so sure? I am a master of many games with close to two centuries of experience on you."

"I was broken tonight Ria. Something up here," he pointed to his head, "snapped. You would do well to remember that there are those who are stronger than you." He opened the door to the limo she had arrived in. There was a hardness to his voice that had not been there seconds earlier.

"Perhaps it would be best if I waited then Tsukune." She joined him in the back. "Driver," she snapped, "Take us to Castle Akashiya."

The trip through the dimensional tunnels was spent in silence. Tsukune spent the trip thinking on Akasha's words. 'Blood trials huh? What could they be that they could be so dangerous…'

Ria meanwhile spent the trip thinking of ways she could screw her sister over.

* * *

After arriving at the castle, Tsukune found himself greeted by dozens of maids and guards. "We live to serve Masters Aono and Sekitan," they said in unison. The head maid stepped forward, "Master Aono, I would be honored to show you to the guest roo-" She was cut off suddenly by Ria.

"Tsukune, you wouldn't mind gracing my rooms this evening, would you?"

Tsukune took a deep breath before answering, "Actually I would mind, Ria, I have had a long night. Perhaps another time?"

She took a deep, mocking curtsy, "My doors are always open to you, brother dearest."

Without answering, he turned to the maid, "Lead me to the guest rooms."

He followed her as she lead him through the large main hall and up several sets of stairs and hallways. Coming to a plain set of doors, she slipped a key out and unlocked them. Stepping to the side, she spoke up, "If you would like master, as head maid, I am privy to some of the magics built into this castle. I can activate a charm that would alert you should anyone approach your rooms, from both the outside and inside."

Smiling, he looked down to her, "I would like that very much. I wish to be awakened around nine am."

"Anything my master wishes. Would you like breakfast brought to your chambers?"

"Yes. Blood and waffles. No syrup."

She smiled. It was a prevailing joke he had overheard by chance when he stayed here with Moka the first time. "Of course master." She turned and left.

Opening the doors to his room, at first, everything was dark. As he took a step in, flames burst to life in the fireplace, throwing a soft glow across the room. He walked slowly towards the huge bed. 'This will be our first night apart in years.' He quickly undressed and left his clothes on the floor in a pile. Climbing onto the bed, his mind wandered to images of his wife and him making love countless times. Before long however, as a tormented mind is want to do, his drifting mind eventually conjured images of Moka and Gin together. Before he knew it, sleep overtook him. His dreams offered no respite from the waking world. Within minutes, tears stained the pillows from nightmares of his beloved.


	3. Chapter 3 Nigtmares

Tsukune didn't know when he started dreaming. It was simply there. Clear as day. Exceedingly lucid. The details were exact. He comprehended all of them.

The smells-he could discern each and every one of them; the smell of the sweat pouring off of their intertwined bodies, the different musky pheromones they both gave off as he pounded into her.

The sounds-each pierced his ears with a haunting clarity; the squeaks of the bed responding to his repeated thrusts, the soft, occasional bump of the headboard against the wall, the swish of the sheets as the lovers switched positions, her soft moans and gasps as he penetrated her.

The sights-each image burned into his retinas for what he thought would be forever. Her pink hair draping down over the two of them, not doing enough to cover their naked bodies, the grin on his face as he thrust up into her, the ripple of her skin from the shock of the pounding transferring through her thighs and buttocks.

He couldn't escape. He could only watch, experience from a detached point of view. He knew his mind was playing tricks on him. The feeling coursed through him in a surprising way. He had the feeling that the point where they had stopped in the events that played out in real life had long since passed. This was another path, one he knew life could have easily taken.

In this path, he was not sitting in the other room, waiting, listening. He was at work. Late, pouring over stacks of paperwork that had sat too long. Completely unaware of what was happening behind his back. His anger grew and grew. He willed himself into the dream, to stop it, change it, anything other than watch this spectacle. Suddenly the door opened. The two lovers stopped and she rolled off the male as she tried to cover herself. The other him that was actually part of this dream had just arrived, tired from work and ready to tell his wife that he would do anything she asked if it came to children again. He just wanted to be happy again.

The other Tsukune looked down at his wrist sadly and pulled the seal off and let it drop. He moved like a flash, his clawed hands ripping the throat out of the man in his bed, one of his best friends, Gin. He turned to Moka. She was curled into a ball in the corner desperately trying to pull the Rosario off. He grinned as a pulse shot out from him, giving the same silence that surrounded the apartment as in real life.

He pulled off her Rosario for her and as she changed, he whispered to her, "Scream. I want to make you suffer…" A maniacal laughter started to fill the room. The real Tsukune tried to close himself off from it, but his mind was filled with the images and sounds and feelings of breaking her, torturing her not for his pleasure, but simply to make her scream. Suddenly, one of her screams broke through the dream and awoke him, "_**TSUKUNE! HELP ME!**_" He looked around the room frantically, trying to find her, only to remember it was simply a nightmare.

**A/N; This chapter is, admittedly, a bit of a throw away. I still think it's worth reading and was fun to write.I like reading well done dream sequences, and hope this is up to par for you, the reader. It lets you get into Tsukune's head a bit, in an attempt to add a bit of depth to his position after the first two chapters. Please Review!**


	4. Chapter 4 The Library

Tsukune was woken by the head maid at 9 am sharp. Waffles and blood had been brought just as he asked. As he ate he motioned for her to sit with him, "I have something to ask of you, after I finish here. Could you take me to the lord's library? I have some research to do. If you could, have all others turned away from the library while I am there. My research must be done privately."

"I can turn all servants away from the library, however I will not be able to turn away any of the family." She paused and shifted in her seat, "If I may ask, why do you need to use the library? Any materials you need can be brought to your rooms."

Something was up, he had to play his cards correctly, "There are some rules related to the blood oath my mate and I swore to that I must examine."

"I see. However, there are no written rules pertaining to the blood oath, if I remember correctly. However, there used to be an ancient set of laws that existed regarding broken oaths. They were abolished the same year the lady Akasha Bloodriver took the throne almost a thousand years back. None can use the laws unless they have permission from the lady herself. But she's been gone for the better part of twenty years."

"I am aware of this."

"Well then," she smiled at him, her brown eyes suddenly flashing, "there is something else to remember. The lady Akasha abolished those laws because, rumor has it, she was subject to undergo one of them when she was but a newly turned vampire. If you could find out which of the seven she underwent, that may help your search."

"If I may ask, what is your name."

"My name is not important master."

"I believe it is."

She hesitated before answering, "My name is Akane. I was named after my grandmother."

"How long have you been working here Akane?"

"I guess it would be almost ten years now. I started the summer before Lady Moka started her high schooling."

"Hmmm," there were points in front of him, but for some reason, he couldn't connect them… yet. "Well, I am finished. If you would?"

"Yes master. Right this way.

* * *

After winding through dozens of passages, the pair finally came to the library. Pushing open the doors, Tsukune's eyes roamed over at least fifty huge book cases. They were all double sided and held up to a thousand books a piece. He had been here and knew the ordering system. From right to left, forward to back the books started old and ended new.

'My lord, you have the room to yourself. I would suggest to find what you are searching for, to find a book mentioning our queen's ascension. It makes for an interesting story.' She turned and walked out, closing the doors behind her.

The first thing Tsukune did was head for the fireplace. Thankfully, it was not lit, allowing him to probe the fireplace thoroughly. He quickly popped of his seal, needing the extra sensory input. This time, he could feel the wings become a part of his body, but stay absorbed. He started along the sides and top of the fireplace, both looking with his vampire eyes and feeling with his fingers.

After twenty minutes of scouring along the visible surfaces of the fireplace, Tsukune sat back on his haunches, disappointed that he hadn't found the buttons mentioned by Akasha. He thought back on her simple, but effective, words; _"Tell me, did she break your trust, your respect."_

_He found himself drawn in by her words, "Yes. She did."_

"_Did she leave you feeling like a broken man?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Did the events tonight break your love for her?"_

_The question managed to catch him off guard. He looked away from her. Had what she done broken his love? "No." The answer came out despite what he WANTED to say._

"_Aono Tsukune, do you believe her to be beyond redemption?"_

_Again, he had to think about it. "No. But how would she redeem herself? What she did…"_

"_What she did was inexcusable, unforgettable, but, was it unforgiveable?"_

"_No."_

"_Then, Tsukune, there is a way for her to redeem herself."_

"_Blood trials. What are they?"_

He stood up and decided to take a break from the searching for now. 'The maid mentioned something about Akasha's ascension. She herself had been subject to these blood trials according to her words,' he thought to himself. He headed towards the oldest books in the library. Picking one at random, he opened it and found himself staring at a runic language. A tag fell out of the book; "Book title; Ritual Incantations of the Seranden People, Estimated Date of Transcription; 6500 BC…Little too old. Akasha ascended around 1000 years ago…" He quickly placed it back on the shelf and moved to a different section of the library.

"Ritual practices of Succubae and Incubi. Author; Yatel Kuruno. Date of Transcription; 750 AD. Closer. Gonna need to ask Kurumu whether that's an ancestor of hers." He decided that he was close enough to start simply scanning the shelves for anything related to Vampires. "Appendix of Monstrous Apparitions, Wiccan Rituals and Spell Appendix (might have to bring Yukari and Ruby here), Glories and Laments, On Oblivion, Notable Figures of Monstrous History, Encyclopedia Volume 1-87, 'A', Date of Transcription, 1150 AD. Hey! Might find something here."

Tsukune pulled out several volumes from the 'b', 'r' and 'v' sections. He knew what he was looking for. "Start with vampires."

After flipping through many pages, he managed to find a section on vampires. 'skip over the obvious stuff, vampires have several ruling clans, the heads of clans form a council which elects a ruler known simply as king or queen of the bats. Most recent ruler elected in the Year 1126. Bloodriver Akasha. Well that's a nice name. If Moka had had that as a last name, we probably wouldn't have gotten very far in our relationship. Back to business. Was elected through slaughtering most of the previous council after having been convicted to a blood trial which she not only passed, but survived.'

He flipped the page, 'She spent 139 days repenting under the 4th blood trial for having killed her previous mate, a clan elder. Accusations of attempted rape were her main defense, however the laws of the time did not consider rape to be a justifiable cause for killing a mate. Details of her trial are few and far between and few remain alive today to confirm those few details. Supposedly she spent the first 100 days abandoned in another dimension, believed by some to be what Christians call Hell. Certain testimonies gathered state that on the 101st day, a rift between dimensions opened on a small island off the coast of China.'

'A woman with long pink hair and covered in burns and scars stumbled out of the rift and immediately headed for the shoreline. Upon entering the water, sparks emitted from her body. She quickly dove under and started swimming the sea between China and Japan. 38 days later, she arrived at the council chambers and proceeded to kill ten of the 13 clan heads. Upon finishing her deed, she was proclaimed Queen by surviving and newly risen clan heads. Her first act as queen was to ban the blood oaths from use unless given permission by herself.'

'Holy-how powerful is this woman? She swam the entire sea? Christ. I get caught in a sprinkle and I'm practically knocked unconscious.' He leaned back in his chair, balancing on two legs. He took a deep breath as he stretched backwards-only to lose his balance and crash to the floor.

'Well, that doesn't hurt anymore at least,' he rolled out of the chair and onto his feet. As he crawled up, something glinted that caught his eye. He quickly dropped back down and tried to find the glint again. He realized he was looking at the fireplace, more specifically, the chimney. He walked over to one of the wall sconces and took the lit candle from its resting place. Dropping down, he held the candle up to the darkness of the chimney chute-and saw four rows of buttons. The chute was large enough for him to stand up easily.

Examining the buttons, he saw they held soot covered numbers. The top three rows held ten numbers; 0-9. The bottom row held seven;1-7. He started pushing the buttons on the top row in order. As he pushed the first, the zero, he heard something open above him. He looked up just in time to catch a splash of water in the face. He let out an involuntary shriek of pain; he tried wiping the water off his face, but screamed again as he felt the pain move to his hands as well. He crawled out of the fireplace and looked down at his hands.

Holes had been burned through them. Already, they were starting to heal, much as the scars on his face had started closing. 'Holy water. If Akasha was the one who built that trap, she must have had some enemies, much more than that and I wouldn't have survived. Right in the face like that…" he went over and looked back up at the buttons. He moved to the chair he had knocked over and broke the leg off.

He reached in with the wooden leg and tried activating other buttons on the other rows. Trying several times, he continuously activated splashes of holy water. 'Damnit,' bouncing back to the first row, decided to try going in order. 'Zero; nope, one; no, two; no, three;…'he listened. He could just hear a faint sliding noise. No water. 'Well, we got one of the numbers…' Suddenly, he felt a darkness growing behind him. "Hello, Ria."

* * *

Standing just inside the door, she had been watching him for several minutes. She decided to move farther into the library. He suddenly stiffened and spoke softly, "Hello, Ria." He stood and turned towards her. "What do you need? As you can tell, I'm a little busy."

"Oh me oh my, I'm here to help. One of the servants told me you were in here breaking furniture and looking through tomes older than the castle."

Though he was loathe to admit it, Tsukune knew he needed help. Who better to do so than possibly the most intelligent person currently in the castle? "Well, that's good. I think that this might benefit us both, Ria. I found a compartment that I can't open. Ever heard of the blood trials?"

"I do not believe so." She took a seat at the table he had his books laid upon. "Would you care to inform me of what you have found?"

"The blood trials were old laws governing crimes brought against those accused of hurting or killing Blood Mates and I assume other clan members. They seem to be forms of punishment that were inherently dangerous. I would imagine that if a vampire were to pass said trials, that they would be welcomed back into the clan."

Following the his line of thought, Ria made a logical jump, "You wish to submit Moka to one of these. Brother! I'm so proud of you!"

"Read here." He pointed out the passages he had read earlier. After a few minutes, Ria looked up to him with a wicked grin on her face.

"I believe helping you would benefit me as well. Show me what you were poking at in the fireplace."

Leading her over, he showed her the rows of buttons. "The three on the first row is the only button that hasn't triggered the splash of holy water yet."

Her eyes looked over the buttons, filled with analytical thoughts. "Tsukune, go grab the book that we were just reading." He quickly did so, she looked at the exposed pages and searched the paragraphs with her eyes. He could see the spark go off when something clicked in her head. "Well brother, I know the parts of the code, but it won't be so easy as you think." She picked up the chair leg and activated a number on the second row. It triggered a splash of water. "Now if my thinking is correct…" she activated the 'three' button on the first row. It triggered the water again. "Tsukune, whoever set this trap up was clever. If you mess up the code the first time, the order of the numbers changes. I am pretty certain which numbers we need, but where they go is variable."

She went to the table and wrote down four numbers; one, three, four, nine. "Codes are tricky Tsukune. Most people use something important to them personally, but otherwise inconsequential. 139 days under the 4th trial. Akasha built this, I am certain. That loathsome woman…" She sat down and started writing out series of the numbers. "We already know that the three can appear on the first row. The nine can't appear on the last row because there aren't enough buttons. Tsukune, could you start activating the numbers so we get an idea of which rows they appear. For now try each row for each number 5 times just to get a general idea."

After close to an hour, they had what they figured was their guidelines. "Alright Tsukune, the 'one' can appear on the first, third and fourth rows, the 'three' on the first, second and fourth rows, the 'four' on the first and fourth rows and the 'nine' on the second and third rows. We might as well start working at random."

"Alright, here goes nothing." Tsukune moved into place with the chair leg. He activated the 'one' on the first row. He heard the sliding sound again. Moving to the second row, he tried the 'four', activating the sliding sound again, he quickly glanced at Ria, then back to the third row. Pressing the 'nine', the sliding sound appeared again. He moved down to the fourth row and activated the 'three'. The sliding sound didn't appear this time. Instead, there was a soft 'click'. Suddenly, the two vampires felt the floor moving. Ria quickly jumped back as the fireplace rotated into the wall.

"Have fun Tsukune," she spoke quickly, "I look forward to seeing what you have to present tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll have my sister sent for." The fireplace clicked shut. "Tsukune, can you still hear me?"

"Barely."

"Good, you should know that Lord Akashiya is bringing the entire council to the castle tonight. He'd had this planned for several months."

"WHAT! No! Damnit. RIA! WHY DIDN'T YOU MENTION THIS EARLIER? RIA!" Tsukune didn't get a response. She had already left.

"Shit." He turned and looked down the small tunnel that had been revealed by the rotating fireplace. "Figures as much." He started down the dark path that would lead him towards what he hoped would provide him a way out of this mess.


	5. Chapter 5 Secrets Uncovered

Tsukune had been walking for far too long. He glanced down at his watch. Half an hour since he had entered this passageway. He'd gone in a straight line the entire time. He knew that he'd gone at least two miles in one direction. With the mental map of the surrounding area, he knew that he was going east of the castle towards a cluster of hills.

His vampire eyes strained against the darkness of the passageway. He could see just well enough to make out the outlines of the tunnel. He continued for another ten minutes this way when he suddenly-finally-came to a bend in the tunnel. He sped up to the point where he was going at light jog.

Suddenly he felt his foot push into something softer-when he heard a 'click'. Following instincts, he started ducking and twisting as a blinding light flashed. He could feel blades miss him by mere breadths of an inch at his sides and feet. He dropped to a crouch as another swept above his head. 'Jump NOW!' a part of his mind screamed at him.

He sprung forward and spun in the air as three more blades passed through the space just surrounding him. He landed on another push-plate and danced out of the way just in time to miss a jet of fire spew forth from a vent in the plate. His eyes finally adjusted to the light. Behind him all he saw was a space of tunnel with large grooves cut into the ceiling and walls, each holding long, gleaming blades on the ends of pendulum arms.

'If one of those would have touched me…' he allowed the thought to trail as he looked back in front of him. Ahead, he saw a field of tiles, each with a set of vents cut into them. The distance was too far to jump, the walls to smooth to sidle along. He stepped gingerly onto another tile only to be rewarded with a stream of fire just inches from his face.

Stepping back, he decided to examine the area more closely. The tiles were two feet across, just enough to keep the flames directly on that tile's area. The area was six tiles across and thirty long. He reached down, testing how much leeway he had before the flames ignited if he were to run straight across. As soon as his hand put any pressure on them, the vents started spewing forth flames.

'Need to take another approach. There has to be a pattern here.' He soon found he was nearly out of luck. The entire first row lit up in flame. Tsukune leaned back and took a deep breath. The gouts of flame were starting to kill off the oxygen in the tunnel. He allowed his head to clear and decided to lean back on the ground. Allowing his eyes to roam over the tunnel, he spotted something he hadn't before. On the ceiling above him, a small grid-barely a few inches across-was carved into the ceiling.

"Bingo!" Several of the squares were carved out darker than the surrounding ones. At one end of the map, an 'X' shape was carved. He quickly memorized the map. Standing back up, he moved back to get a running start, but as soon as he did, his foot hit a pressure plate that reactivated the swinging blades. The entire area the blades covered, he noted quickly, was one giant pressure plate. "So, it's a standing jump." With a running jump, he could easily cover twenty feet. A standing jump got him about ten.

"Should still be safe. Alright, fourth row, third tile." He crouched and sprung, landing nimbly on the tile. No flames sprung up to meet him. 'Seventh row, sixth plate,' safe again. He continued this process, '9;2, 12;4, 15;6, 15;1, 19;2, 22;4, 26;5, 28;1, home safe. YES!' he landed on the far side of the tiles, unscathed. Seeing a tunnel that branched off to his left, he took it, not without trepidation.

* * *

He had entered two other rooms, both also filled with traps. The first contained a dart trap the darts coated in acid. He had taken several hits from that, leaving more than a couple scars on his body. The second, the one he was just crawling out of, pissed him off.

The room's floor had completely dropped out from under him into a pool of water which quickly filled the vacuum left by the sudden drop. The water was normal water thankfully, but was still enough to leave him weakened. Sparks continued to arc off of his damp body onto the walls surrounding him.

He continued walking until he found a stone door blocking his path. Buttons adorned the thing. Dozens. He pushed one experimentally. A stream of water splashed down, hitting his hand, burning a hole clean through it. "FUCK! DAMNIT! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS SHIT!"

He felt a power course through his blood, his muscles tensing, claws and fangs lengthening. The wings he had grown the day before came back to him now, filling the small hallway. The claw on his right wing brushed one of the buttons on the door, causing water to stream down. The water hit the skin of his wing and streamed down, leaving no trace of pain in the wing. Several drops managed to land on his neck and burned as normal.

'Shields,' something in his mind spoke to him. He was starting to recognize the voice, the energy that had overtaken his rational mind the night before and tortured his former friend. Shinso. He quickly adjusted his wings in such a fashion that the tips and loose skin created an umbrella effect. He tapped and held one of the buttons to test his theory.

The water cascaded down around him, but didn't touch a bit of his normal skin. He watched as the water flowed onto the floor and down a series of cracks at the junction of the wall and floor, draining away quickly. A smile crept onto his face.

He allowed his anger at the situation to fill him, giving him extra energy. He directed his flow of youkai into his arm and hand, making a battering ram. Slamming his fist into the door, he felt the water cascade down around him, touching nothing but his wings. He slammed his fist into the door again. Cracks in the stone appeared. The flow of water increased, still being sufficiently drained away.

Battering the door for a third time, his thoughts turned towards Gin, how his friend betrayed his trust to lay with his wife. His anger drove him through the pain of the holy water lapping at his feet.

A fourth time, his thoughts turned to Moka, grasping at the memories of his wife's voice, betraying him simply for the sake of pride. His rage gave him still more energy.

A fifth time, his thoughts turning inward. Furious at himself for allowing her to go so far. For failing to protect her from everything, including herself. For failing every one of his friends each and every time. He allowed his anger to seep into his Shinso blood. He allowed the power to course through him, bond with him.

He slammed his fist home a sixth time, the power of his wrath releasing in a shockwave, shattering the twenty inch slab of a door into dust. The holy water flowed around his ankles now, not causing him one bit of pain. The Shinso blood had finally bonded with him.

Darkness clouded his vision.

* * *

"It takes an unusually powerful vampire to be able to ignore the effects of holy water completely," a voice spoke quietly. Tsukune opened his eyes slowly. He saw a flash of pink. His eyes shot open completely. He found himself bolt upright staring into the eyes of Akasha Bloodriver, Hades Lord, Queen of the Vampires and recognized Shinso, the purist and strongest blood of vampire that could be found.

"You already know that I am one such vampire."

"You're sadistic."

"Variety is the spice of life my dear." She stood from her crouching position and moved into the room he had just revealed. "Those were safeguards to prevent unwanted guests from reaching this room. Only the worthy would be able to enter."

He thought about her words for a moment, watching her as she sat in a chair next to a stack of ancient tomes. "That last door was more than a test, wasn't it?"

"Gotcha," she smirked as she settled into the chair, "That door was thicker that what all but the strongest of the Elders could break through. You didn't notice because your aren't magically inclined, but this complex has an antimagic field surrounding it. That prevents all but natural youkai from being used to break that door. Finally, the buttons were rigged. There wasn't a code to get in. The holy water would have killed all but a Shinso vampire."

"Tsukune, I recognize you now as a Shinso. This won't give you any official titles or power, but the assumed power of being recognized as such will be helpful."

"Right now I could care less about that Akasha-san-" he was interrupted by her.

"Akasha, please. I'm your mother in law. Don't make me feel older than I am."

"But, you are-"

"Drop it. I know how old I am. So does everybody else. Just because I'm immortal doesn't mean I don't like being treated like how I look."

"Fair enough, Akasha. I'm more worried about the blood trials you mentioned."

"So, you are willing to put my daughter through hell because she slept with another man. I know as a human, that would be a grave offense, and while I MUCH prefer monogamy, most of our race doesn't consider cuckolding to be _wrong_, though it _can_ be offensive to either mate. As my husband Issa would be fond of saying, 'It is very hard to maintain that level of intimacy for an eternity.'"

"She didn't just sleep with another man. She was purposely trying to conceive with him."

Akasha leaned forward at this. "I know. That's why I suggested these to you. Such an offense cannot be forgiven. It is in our blood bond to seek children solely with our mates. What Moka did would be grounds for absolving a bond. You however were angry and weren't in control of your faculties. Now you're still mad as hell, but you want to give her a chance, one that you have to be certain will test her, change her even, but will allow her to redeem herself." She reached behind her and picked up a thin book. She flipped it open to the first page.

He sat on the chair opposite her and began to read.

Amendment to the Blood Laws; Upon issue of this amendment, magics have been discovered that allow for the blood of the vampire to be withdrawn either in part or wholly from the body of The Sinner. This may be factored into the choice of Blood Laws and the difficulty of the tasks set within. Note, The Accuser may not be subject to this amendment for the Seventh Blood Law.

* * *

Blood Law the First: Trial By Combat

Accuser and Sinner face each other in single combat. Handicaps of any sort are not to be used. The Sinner will be deemed in the wrong if he or she loses. The Sinner's crimes will be forgiven if they are victorious. Death need not be brought about to either The Accuser or The Sinner.

Blood Law the Second: Trial by Pain

The Sinner will answer for his or her crime by being submitted to torture administered either by The Accuser or by a proxy appointed by the council. Either The Accuser or the council will set the bar which The Sinner must endure through and surpass in order to be forgiven. Unconsciousness or Death will deem The Sinner Guilty.

Blood Law the Third: Trial by Journey

The Sinner will be bound by magics wrought by the council to take up no weapon and no armor to complete a task set by the Council. Only The Sinner's natural strengths will be allowed. Upon completion of this trial, The Sinner's crimes will be forgiven. Failure of this trial means death.

Blood Law the Fourth: Trial by Exile

The Sinner will be exiled by the council to an extra dimensional plane of being to be exiled for a set amount of time. Upon completion of their sentence, a portal will be opened at a distant location if The Sinner survives. The Sinner must then return to the council under their own power, by swimming and/or walking.

Blood Law the Fifth: Trial by Humility

The Sinner will be bound by magics wrought by the council to walk naked and barefoot for a period of one year and one day. The Sinner may not ask for food, clothing or shelter, but if any are given The Sinner may accept. Any tasks given to The Sinner by anyone he or she walks by must be accepted, even if potentially harmful to The Sinner. They will be allowed to defend themselves only if death is honestly believed to be imminent. If given opportunity to work for food, clothing or shelter, The Sinner must accept. After the sentence is finished, The Sinner must shed his or her clothing, leave without speaking and return to the council. Either The Accuser or the council may deem The Sinner worthy or unworthy. If deemed unworthy, The Sinner may again be subject to any of the Blood laws.

Blood Trial the Sixth: Trial by Reflection

The Sinner will spend seven years and seven days in magically bound silence. No written word may be read unless created by The Sinner. After the first year and one day, visitors may be allowed, only answerable by written word. After the sentence is finished, The Accuser or the council may deem The Sinner worthy or unworthy. If deemed unworthy, The Sinner may again be subject to any of the Blood laws.

Blood Trial the Seventh: Trial by Shamed Blood

This Trial Affects both The Accuser and The Sinner. Only Bondmates are allowed this law. The Sinner Will be subject to any of the afore mentioned Blood Trials. The Accuser will enter a self-imposed exile which will last one year and one day or longer if chosen. The Accuser cannot seek out members of his clan for shelter. The Accuser cannot step foot upon the grounds of his home during this period of time. The members can however seek out The Accuser after a period of one month and offer shelter. During this time The Accuser must bring honor back to his name in a manner approved by a member of the council. The Blood Bond is suspended during this time period as well. After both The Accuser and The Sinner complete their tasks, The Accuser may allow the Blood Bond to be either absolved or reaffirmed. The council cannot bring judgment against The Sinner in this Trial. The Accuser is the only being in existence allowed to bring judgment. The Judgment can be up to and including death.

* * *

"So, Tsukune, which will you choose?" Akasha was leaning over his chair, reading along with him.

"I don't really know."

Akasha paused for a moment, "Tsukune, allow me to draw your mind away from this for a moment." She moved back to her chair, "You are now Shinso. To become such, you not only have to have the blood of a Shinso inside you, my daughter does and is not a full Shinso, one also has to be put through an emotional trauma. When I awoke as a Shinso, my mate had just tried to rape me. I killed him while in the thrall of the Unbound Shinso. The first time your power activates, it is completely unbound."

"When I became a true Shinso, I had just arrived back at the council chambers. In that moment, I allowed my anger to fill me, much as yours did you, and I slaughtered eleven of the thirteen council members with my bare hands for having me put, literally, through hell. To bind the power to you, you need to surrender to its power. Accept it. I knew that I didn't have the power to defeat the council alone. I accepted my weakness. How did you accept yours?"

"I was angry at Gin and Moka both." He took a breath, "I was also angry with myself, I have always been too weak to protect my loved ones. That's when I submitted." Realization hit him like a brick.

"I need you, as Queen of the Vampires, to sanction my decision in public, tonight. If you care about your daughter, you will."

Akasha, not normally one to take orders studied this young man, her daughter's mate. She knew she was looking at exactly what her daughter fell in love with. What she, under different circumstances, would have fallen for as well, "Very well, I've always loved crashing parties."


	6. Chapter 6 Siblings Speak

For the past few hours after waking up alone, Moka had been staring blankly at the wall across from where she sat in her bedroom. She could still smell everything that had happened the previous night. Sweat and sex stained the sheets she had slept in. She could smell the blood that still covered the kitchen floor seeping in under her door. Most of all though, she could still smell him. She held the tattered remains of the shirt her husband had been wearing the night before. His scent had changed. Whatever she had broken inside him the night before had changed him on a fundamental level.

_Ura-chan, I think we made a mistake last night, _ her outer self spoke to her. Her seal was still off, lying somewhere out in the kitchen.

**I don't think we did Omote-**her inner personality started saying, but was cut off.

_WHAT! How didn't we make a mistake? We betrayed him, we hurt him so much._

**Omote, he was in the wrong. We were the ones hurt by humans. He let us lay with Gin. While his actions after the fact were…regrettable, he was still in the wrong. He should have listened to us and accepted out decision. Once he apologizes, then things will be back to normal.**

_I hope you're right, Ura. _

Suddenly she heard the phone ringing, "Tsukune!" She raced out into the living room and grabbed the phone, "Hello, Tsukune?"

"Sister! So good to hear from you. And in your unsealed form as well."

"Ria, what do you want?"

"Oh me oh my, I'm calling as a favor to Tsukune. I'm going to be swinging around to pick you up in a few minutes. Please, dress decently. There's a party tonight and you _will_ be the center of attention-_CLICK_."

"Shit."

* * *

She was waiting outside as Ria's limo pulled up. The door swung open and she climbed in.

"What do you want Ria?"

"Straight to the point," Ria smirked, "Very well then, I am…pleased… to tell you that Tsukune is not going to have your bond absolved." Moka felt a weight lift off her shoulders, only to have it put back in place, "Instead, he is going to put you through hell."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, I can't spoil the surprise, not yet. I left a letter for father explaining the whole situation; how you brought a werewolf into your bed for procreation purposes, how Tsukune has found a lead to bring a more suitable punishment upon you than simply breaking your bond, etcetera."

"Damnit. I suppose you think this is absolutely hilarious?"

"Oh, indeed. It's not every day that the little sister I detest, _completely_ shames herself in such a way as to be almost unforgiveable. The only thing I don't like about this situation is that poor Tsukune is the victim."

"Shut it Ria. You've been trying to hurt him to get to me for years."

"You are quite right, Moka, however what you don't realize is just how much I have come to respect that young man. At every turn, while I may have a short term satisfaction, he has beaten me. The whole affair with his father and being human and the…sessions we enjoyed. Each time, I believed myself to have the upper hand and then he changes the game."

Moka smiled at this, "It's because he's a good person. That has never been in doubt."

"No, it hasn't. But something is different about him now. You broke him, sister. You may not like the way he has rebuilt himself. I think it is an improvement."

"You said that he is going to put me through hell?" Ria nodded at this, "Then he hasn't changed as much as what you think."

"How so, sister?"

"Putting someone like me in hell automatically leaves room for a way back out."

"For your sake, sister, I hope you are correct." Moka started at the unexpected sympathy from her elder sister. She decided not to push her luck and was content to spend the rest of the ride in silence.

* * *

Arriving at the castle, evening had broken. The Elders had arrived and so had her father. A group of servants stood outside, opening the doors for them and taking their coats. Ria was dressed in her usual neck high, form fitting gown, with half sleeves and long gloves. Not an ounce of skin showed below her neck, however the gown was cut to show off her full figure. Curves in all the right places, long dark hair, she practically oozed sensuality. Moka was dressed in a red velvet dress, low cut and backless, her pure, pale skin and cascading silver hair attracting just as much attention. Her curves were less prominent, but lent her a lithe frame. The two women of the Akashiya Clan drew attention even before their names were announced to the main hall.

One of the goblin butlers cleared his throat and raised his voice, "Announcing, The Ladies Sekitan Ria and Aono-Akashiya Moka. The sisters walked down the steps into the main hall, straight for the throne, where their father, Akashiya-Shuzen Issa sat. Reaching the throne, they both curtsied to the Lord. He stood and smiled, Embracing Ria first. Moving to Moka, he whispered in her ear, "I am displeased with you. Your husband has yet to show himself." The smile never broke as he sat back into the throne. "Enjoy the party my daughters, for now…"

Suddenly the butler at the doorway announced another guest, "Announcing, Master Aono Tsukune."

Moka spun and her eyes shot towards the door. Dressed in a regal, but simple suit, he started walking towards the dais where she and her father stood, in human form. He took a knee. Standing back up, Issa moved to embrace him.

"My Lord. It is good to see you."

"And you as well son. Please, you and your wife, come with me. We have matters to discuss in private."

"My Lord, I must disagree. This would be best discussed where the council can hear." That statement drew many ears and eyes. Tsukune slipped out a thin tome and held it up to Issa. "When dealing with the Blood Trials, the council must weigh in."

Issa's eyes went wide, "WHAT? What right do you have to call forth laws that have been banned for a millennium?"

Tsukune reached to his wrist and pulled off his seal. Moka watched in silence as he grew several inches and Wings pushed through his shirt somehow without damaging it. 'Tailored specifically for wings.'

A voice boomed out over the crowd from above, "He claims the right of a Bondmate that has been wronged as well of the rights as a Shinso." All eyes shot up to the balcony. Standing there was a figure no one had seen for twenty years, save for Tsukune.

Akasha Bloodriver.


	7. Chapter 7 Party Crashers

"He claims the right of a Bondmate that has been wronged as well of the rights as a Shinso." Issa nearly collapsed. He turned slowly to the balcony where that haunting voice appeared from. There he saw a ghost. No. She was alive. His former mate, Akasha Bloodriver was back from the dead and already meddling. He turned to the young man she was referencing, the man that he accepted into his clan, Tsukune Aono.

"Son, you are already in over your head," he said softly, "Now that I know he has your backing, I assume that the Blood Trials are open for all to use, Akasha?"

She looked to him as she descended the steps, "I'm afraid you're wrong there. This is a one-time deal." She continued walking in silence until she reached the dais. Stepping aside, Issa gave her the floor.

"Assembled Elders, I am sorry for my absence. Making sure Alucard was properly sealed took precedence especially since I found my herald ruling so well in my stead. I make my presence known now because of a crime my daughter has committed," she turned to Moka who was petrified, "I have given my son-in-law permission to use the Blood Laws to punish his mate in the hopes that their bond may continue to persevere."

"All of the Elders here know of my disdain of the Blood Trials. Many of you ascended to your positions because of the results of my Blood Trial. For all of those who don't know, allow me to explain the situation in order to usher this along as quickly as possible. "

"The Blood Trials had become corrupted over time, especially when magics were found to remove the vampiric strength from the blood in part or full. Vampires by the dozens were being subjected to these trials, having their strength removed, then given trials that _very few_ non vampires could survive. I was one such vampire. Any of you can look up my story, so I will not speak of it here, but all of you need to know that I would only allow the Blood Trials to be used if the crime was one against not just a sole vampire, but was offensive to her entire clan."

"Aono-Akashiya Moka stands here accused of breaching the blood bond we all make when we take a mate. I call an open meeting of the Elders to answer this crime." Akasha sat upon the throne, Issa stepped up to her right. The Elders surrounded the dais in a half circle. Tsukune and Moka were the only ones left upon the dais.

"Tsukune, please, state the crime for the council to hear."

"My Lady," He turned to the Elders, "Elders, My bondmate, after months of arguing, took another man into our bedroom." He paused waiting for a reaction.

One of the Elders spoke up, "That is not a crime worthy of calling us out."

"Sevana, allow my son to finish," Issa said softly.

Tsukune took his turn, "She took this man into our bed for the sole purpose of procreation. The man was a werewolf we both knew."

Many of the vampires in the hall gasped, whispers started up, "Quiet. All of you!" Akasha spoke loudly. "Elders, I personally act as witness to my son's statement. Do you find us within our rights to call upon the Blood Trials?"

The Elders looked to one another nervously. Finally, the one nearest the center spoke up, "Yes, milady. While it is well known that seeking out a vampire outside the bond for this purpose is a crime, unless certain circumstances are present, a lower breed is unheard of. This crime is, as you said, an offense to the race."

Moka had had enough, "NO! None of you know the circumstances of my decision! My mate would not agree with me on how to raise my children-"

"_**YOUR**_** CHILDREN**?" Tsukune yelled, his aura starting to surround him, "**ARE THEY NOT ALSO MY CHILDREN? **You know how I was raised as a human," More gasps went up around the hall, for a vampire, a claimed _SHINSO _vampire at that, to claim he was second born was either a blatant lie or pure stupidity. "**SILENCE!**" he yelled at the crowd, a shockwave following his voice. He turned back to Moka after a moment, "All I wanted was for my family to be a part of our children's lives. They are good people who _love _you. Now…now you've made your choice. You WILL pay for it."

"Tsukune, that wasn't how it was supposed to happen. You were supposed to stop me…"

He stared at her in disbelief, "What? I-what is that supposed to mean?"

"You were supposed to stop me from doing anything. You were supposed to stop it from happening and apologize."

She was met with silence from the hall. That statement condemned her and she knew it. She bowed her head and spoke, "Do as you will."

After a moment, Issa spoke up. Well, Akasha, should I start reciting the Blood Trials as is customary for the Head Elder?"

"Yes. This is going to be a long night as it is. No need to drag it out."

"Very well," he turned to the crowd. Everyone, I am sorry, but this part of the Blood Trials is closed to witnesses. I must ask that you return to your homes. The Elders of your clans will be home by tomorrow afternoon." With his announcement, the servants started escorting the guests to their transportation.

* * *

The party that was left moved through the castle as one, eventually appearing on a balcony overlooking the grounds. A bier was centered in the balcony and was covered with a red velvet cloth. As the group of elders surrounded the platform, Akasha pulled out a small, lined box. Opening it gently, she pulled out a crystal several inches thick and close to ten inches long, and completely clear.

"Issa, start the recital."

"As you Wish Milady."

"The First Blood Law: Trial by Combat. The Accuser and Sinner face each other in single combat. Handicaps of any sort are not to be used. The Sinner will be deemed in the wrong if he or she loses. The Sinner's crimes will be forgiven if they are victorious. Death need not be brought about to either The Accuser or The Sinner." Moka took her place opposite of Tsukune at the bier. He watched her as Issa continued.

"The Second Blood Law: Trial by Pain. The Sinner will answer for his or her crime by being submitted to torture administered either by The Accuser or by a proxy appointed by the council. Either The Accuser or the council will set the bar which The Sinner must endure through and surpass in order to be forgiven. Unconsciousness or Death will deem The Sinner Guilty." He could see Moka shiver slightly. It was unlikely from the chill wind that rose over the balcony. He could barely feel it.

"The Third Blood Law: Trial by Journey. The Sinner will be bound by magics wrought by the council to take up no weapon and no armor to complete a task set by the Council. Only The Sinner's natural strengths will be allowed. Upon completion of this trial, The Sinner's crimes will be forgiven. Failure of this trial means death." Tsukune's eyes darted to Akasha. She stood at the head of the bier, quietly intoning something, probably a spell of some sort.

"The Fourth Blood Law: Trial by Exile. The Sinner will be exiled by the council to an extra dimensional plane of being to be exiled for a set amount of time. Upon completion of their sentence, a portal will be opened at a distant location if The Sinner survives. The Sinner must then return to the council under his or her own power, by swimming and/or walking." His eyes shifted yet again to the various Elders. They too were chanting the same phrase over and over again.

"The Fifth Blood Law: Trial by Humility. The Sinner will be bound by magics wrought by the council to walk naked and barefoot for a period of one year and one day. The Sinner may not ask for food, clothing or shelter, but if any are given The Sinner may accept. Any tasks given to The Sinner by anyone he or she walks by must be accepted, even if potentially harmful to The Sinner. They will be allowed to defend themselves only if death is honestly believed to be imminent. If given opportunity to work for food, clothing or shelter, The Sinner must accept. After the sentence is finished, The Sinner must shed his or her clothing, leave without speaking and return to the council. Either The Accuser or the council may deem The Sinner worthy or unworthy. If deemed unworthy, The Sinner may again be subject to any of the Blood laws." His eyes went back to Moka. He could see her start to pale slightly.

"The Sixth Blood Law: Trial by Reflection. The Sinner will spend seven years and seven days in magically bound silence. No written word may be read unless created by The Sinner. After the first year and one day, visitors may be allowed, only answerable by written word. After the sentence is finished, The Accuser or the council may deem The Sinner worthy or unworthy. If deemed unworthy, The Sinner may again be subject to any of the Blood laws." He looked back to Akasha. The gem she held was starting to glow slightly. She released it from her hand and it floated into position, just at the head of the Bier.

"The Seventh Blood Law: Trial by Shamed Blood. This Trial Affects both The Accuser and The Sinner. Only Bondmates are allowed this law. The Sinner Will be subject to any of the afore mentioned Blood Trials. The Accuser will enter a self-imposed exile which will last one year and one day or longer if chosen. The Accuser cannot seek out members of his clan for shelter. The Accuser cannot step foot upon the grounds of his home during this period of time. The members can however seek out The Accuser after a period of one month and offer shelter. During this time The Accuser must bring honor back to his name in a manner approved by a member of the council. The Blood Bond is suspended during this time period as well. After both The Accuser and The Sinner complete their tasks, The Accuser may allow the Blood Bond to be either absolved or reaffirmed. The council cannot bring judgment against The Sinner in this Trial. The Accuser is the only being in existence allowed to bring judgment. The Judgment can be up to and including death." He was still staring at Moka. Her eyes shot up to meet his when her father finished. He nodded slightly. She looked back down. He hoped she got the message.

As the Elders finished their chanting, Akasha spoke up. "Tsukune, have you decided upon one of the laws to choose?"

"Yes, Lady Akasha. The Blood Trial I wish Lady Moka to submit to is the Seventh Blood Trial." It was clear that his decision surprised all present save for Akasha. He had already cleared this with her.

"Tsukune, you are aware that one of the elders must approve of your choice of tasks. Being the first vampire to have actually chosen this trial, this is something each of them must think deeply upon. Speak the task you have chosen to the elders now."

"Before I was mated to Moka, and even after, we had a tight knit group of friends. All of them were after me on some level. I hurt them all. I have also hurt several members of my clan. The task I have chosen is to make reprimands with all whom I have wronged. I am aware I cannot seek out members of the clan during this time. It is my wish that my decision here be conveyed to the members of my clan."

"Does anyone here support his task?" The Elders were silent. No one wanted to make the first move. Suddenly a voice rang deep through the group. "I will support his decision." Issa had been the one to speak up. "I do not know how you have wronged my family, but for now I will support you. I accepted you as my son after all."

"It is settled. Tsukune, which trial will you have Moka submit to?"

"The Trial of Humility. It is my belief that pride came before her fall. She had seen the worst of what the humans can do to a young girl. Now I demand that she experience what I believe is the best the humans can do for a young woman who has clearly been hurt."

"Moka, do you understand the meaning of this trial, what you will be put through?"

"Yes Mother, It is meant to break one's pride. Make them humble."

"It is not meant to make one humble. It is meant to teach humility. There is a difference. I hope you learn it the first time around. Lay upon the table. Tsukune, you are to take her rosary and touch it to the Bloodstone. It will allow her two personalities to bond as her vampire strength is all but removed."

He quickly did so. As he did, a bridge of energy appeared between her and the Bloodstone.

"Now Tsukune, you must take her blood. The action will be regulated by the Bloodstone, which is designed to hold the power of her blood." Tsukune hesitated. He hadn't known he would be the one to do this. "I will tell you when to stop. Past that point, it will be too dangerous." He nodded and climbed atop the bier, straddling Moka's waist.

"Moka," he whispered, "I'm not doing this because I hate you. I still love you. You need to realize just how much you have hurt me though." He flapped his wings and used them to make a makeshift covering around them. He allowed his fangs to lengthen then sunk them into her neck.

He could feel her sweet blood in his mouth. He drew deeper and deeper still, to the point where his jaw was actually starting to ache. The main difference between a vampire and a human is that a vampire's blood doesn't like to be drawn out of the body. It was a struggle to continue drawing this much blood. He was faintly aware of her moaning. Half in pain, half in pleasure. Finally he felt a hand upon his wing.

He pulled out and quickly licked over the wounds, closing them. Rolling off of her and stepping down, he saw her now, sitting up. Her face had softened slightly, her blood red eyes taking on a ring of emerald green. Pink streaks shot through her hair now as well. Her two forms were bonding.

Akasha watched as the Bloodstone twisted from a crystal clear gem to a swirling, blood red vortex in the center. When the vortex stopped, the red tint shot through the gem with an opaque black column left in the center. She took the Bloodstone from its place, hovering above the dais, and set it gently into the box she had taken it from.

Closing the box, Akasha spoke with a commanding tone, "It is done. Tomorrow, you start your lives anew."


	8. Chapter 8 Pillow Talk

The group parted ways, the Elders leaving with escorts to see them to their homes safely. Moka was led off by her father and sister. This left only Tsukune and Akasha. "Come with me Tsukune," she said softly. He quickly acquiesced, otherwise lost in thought. As they walked, he noticed they were moving away from the guest rooms, towards a section of the castle he had never found himself in before.

They climbed a flight of stairs leading into the one of the towers. Opening the door at the top, he was surprised by the room he stood in. It was big, actually its own set of apartments. It was a completely open floor plan with the main attraction being the huge bed. It was easily big enough to sleep six people. 'For some reason, I think it already has slept that many at once…'

"I want you to sleep in my chambers for two reasons Tsukune. One; Moka will not try coming here to bother you. Two, it's been 24 years since I have had someone at my side to sleep with."

"Umm. Akasha, are you really certain…" he was scratching the back of his head, trying to come up with a way to get out of this situation.

"What, Tsukune? Am I not pretty enough for you?"

"No, you're very pretty!"

"Am I too old?" she pouted with this one, "You know how I feel about my age Tsukune."

"NO! You aren't too old!"

Akasha leaned in very close. He felt his head bump against the door. She started smiling and kissed his nose. "I'm just teasing you Tsukune. I am not going to _make_ you do anything tonight. It's been a stressful night for all, especially you. I just want to be a gracious hostess. And If I get a little comfort myself, it doesn't hurt."

He let out a sigh of relief, "Whew, thanks. I thought you wanted me to sleep with you." She had walked towards her dresser. She turned at this comment and raised an eyebrow. He sweat dropped at this. "You do want me to sleep with you, don't you?"

"And If I said yes? Tsukune, will you share a bed with me? I won't push you into anything more. Like I said, twenty-four years since I have shared a room with another man. Issa and I haven't been mated practically since my daughter was born."

"Alright. I'll share your bed with you." He turned as she smiled and started undressing. He did the same, stripping quickly down to his boxers. After another minute she called out to him, "Done." He turned back and saw she was dressed in a nighty. Opaque though it was, the silky, red material clung to her curves in ways that practically made being naked more practical. Being naked almost left more to the imagination.

He moved over to the bed and crawled under the covers, watching her as she did the same. As she drew near under the covers he laid his head back and let her draw close to him, her head lying next to his. Her scent wafted over him. Lilacs. He didn't understand vampire senses all the time. Especially the scents. They could be practically anything. He let his head turn slowly towards her and got caught by her emerald eyes. The fireplace threw soft flickers over her skin and hair, almost giving them a dark glow. Suddenly her face was replaced with that of her daughter's He turned his head quickly and drew a breath sharp enough to cut steel.

"My looks remind you of her. At least the outer Moka. Tsukune, look at me," he did so, "I want to show you how much unlike my daughter I am." She leaned in and kissed him deeply.

* * *

(A/N: LEMON! You don't have to read here if lemons bother you. I set them up so they're not important to the story)

* * *

'Fuck it.' He wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss. He allowed her tongue to slip through his teeth and quickly returned the favor. He rolled so he was above her, his hands drifted down her sides, passing lightly over her nighty.

She broke the kiss and looked at him hungrily. She ran her hands over his chest and teased his nipples lightly. He grinned and let his right hand drift lower, reaching down and cupping her buttocks under her nighty. She pulled her leg up and wrapped it around him, pulling his lower half tighter against her.

He shifted his right hand to support his weight as he let his left hand drift across her collarbone and down her full chest. He gave her breast a light squeeze through the garment and leaned down to kiss her again. As he did, he found her nipple and pinched it lightly, drawing a soft moan from her.

Breaking the kiss, he shifted her nighty down over her breast and took her nipple in his mouth, caressing it gently with his tongue eliciting yet more moans from her. Her hands ran through his hair and across his back, pulling him closer against her. He could feel her warmth through his boxers, his erection pressed tightly against her.

Finally he stopped for a moment to catch his breath. She smiled up at him mischievously. Without warning, she managed to flip him so she was on top "My turn," she started trailing kisses down his collar bone, chest and stomach, eventually finding her way to his boxers. She smiled up at him again and proceeded to draw his boxers down over his legs, revealing his thick shaft. She wrapped her fingers around it and placed it against her lips, kissing it softly.

'She knows how to make a guy feel wanted,' he let out an involuntary moan as she wrapped her lips around the head of his shaft, sucking it softly. She ran her tongue around it and let her hand run up and down the shaft. "Akasha, I want to taste you," He said softly.

"Sure thing," she said smiling. She sat up and drew her nighty off her body, revealing her flawless skin. She swung her leg over his chest and settled onto him. She felt like she weighed nothing to him. He started with his fingers, running his fingertips lightly over the flushed skin of her crotch. She shivered at his touch. He scent filled his nose, a sweet musk that intoxicated him.

He started rubbing around her lips, enjoying the feeling of her reactions to his touch on his chest. He ran his thumb over her mound, over her clit, eliciting a moan from her. He smiled as he placed his thumb against it again. She started grinding lightly against his touch as she took him deeper in her mouth. She relaxed her mouth and took him all the way down her throat.

Tsukune let out a moan as she deepthroated him. He felt his eyes roll back in his head. Recovering quickly, he continued stimulating her, this time, slipping a finger into her pussy as he wrapped his other arm around her waist, holding her down. He could feel her tense around his cock as she held back a squeal of pleasure. Reaching deeper into her, he ran his finger along the inner walls of her pussy. He could feel her move against his hand, trying to drive him deeper.

He wouldn't allow it. Tsukune moved his mouth up to her pussy, tasting the fluids of her arousal on his tongue. He continued to stimulate her clit as he let his tongue and finger penetrate her, probing her, lubricating her for his impending entry. Running his finger over a tender spot, he felt her contract. Her mouth deserted his cock as her entire body tensed and locked in orgasm. He held her tightly, not allowing her to escape as her entire body convulsed against him. She let out a loud moan as her orgasm hit its peak.

As her orgasm subsided, she went limp, breathing heavily. He stopped his attentions and lifted her frame up and to his side, turning her so her head rested by his. "Thank you, I needed that," she said softly, almost shyly.

He smiled and chuckled. "Multiple orgasm?"

"I've always been prone to them, and I haven't had one in two decades." She smiled and rolled her eyes. He leaned in and kissed her.

They continued this way, slowly roaming their hands over each other for several minutes. Finally, she rolled him onto his back and straddled him. She spat in her fingers and rubbed the fluid over his dick, adding extra lubrication. Wiping her hand on a far side of the sheet, she rose up and adjusted his head against her pussy lips.

She slowly allowed her body to sink as he filled her, allowing herself to adjust to his size. She was still plenty wet, so lubrication wasn't a problem. She started moving her body through a rhythmic motion, up and down. She moved slowly at first, getting back on the metaphorical bicycle, then as any discomfort she had melted away, she sped up.

Tsukune, meanwhile, was in heaven. He was thankful for the vampire race's functional immortality for a split second. 'Normally a thousand year old woman would be pretty dry. Probably dust.' He allowed the strange thought to bounce around in his head before banishing it. He instead focused on the woman on top of him, a beautiful woman with the body of a super model.

Her pussy walls gripped at him as she moved atop him. She was extremely well lubricated and was _insanely_ tight, making for a spectacular combination. It took all his will to not blow his load just minutes to their activities. He pulled her down on top of him, her breast mashing against his chest. He kissed her deeply before adjusting and taking over the motions. He drove up into her with long, moderate strokes, hoping to draw her to orgasm again.

Akasha, meanwhile, was in heaven. It had been decades since she had felt like this. Tsukune knew how to _make love_, not just have sex. There was a world of difference to her. Sex was good, needed even to relieve stress from life. This was more. She knew she might have been taking advantage of him ever so slightly_, _but she knew he wouldn't regret this. Her thoughts drifted to her knowledge of the boy.

'He's Shinso. He was the first one in over five hundred years that wasn't completely power hungry. Could he be a mate?' her thoughts were derailed as he picked up pace, driving into her fast and deep. She let out a sharp yelp at the unexpectedly pleasurable assault on her pussy.

He kept up pace for almost five minutes straight, his vampire stamina giving him extra oomph. Suddenly he rolled her and pinned her against the pillows, adjusting his pace so he was driving deep and steady. Akasha could feel herself start to succumb to his assault, heat flushing through her body again. She knew where she was going and wasn't going to stop herself.

"Tsukune, I'm _cumming_!" He could feel her pussy start to contract, he adjusted his pace accordingly to give her a more intense orgasm, his strokes hitting their depth as she contracted around his dick. His short, deep thrusts paired with her convulsing pussy quickly brought him over the edge. "Shit! Akasha!"

"Give it to me Tsukune!" he quickly acquiesced, filling her pussy with his hot seed. The warmth from her after-orgasm and the heat from his seed filled her with pleasure. She sighed contentedly as he pulled out. She snuggled against him as he fell onto the bed.

* * *

Tsukune sighed contentedly as Akasha curled up against him. He was happy to simply have someone with him tonight, to distract him at the very least. He chuckled quietly as he thought of just how much she was not like Moka. 'She proved herself right.' Outer Moka was shy and quiet. She gladly took part in their sexual endeavors, but she regularly let him take the dominant role, acting in a much more submissive fashion.

With Inner Moka, it was either her being dominant or him acting to dominate her. He had occasionally enjoyed their slightly rougher style of sex, but he had always known there was something missing from both Mokas. He had found it with Akasha tonight. The worked together, equal in their lovemaking. Each took their turn, unspoken though it was, being dominant and submissive. For Moka, it required a working balance between her two completely different personalities. For Akasha, it was natural.

He felt her mover against him, her naked form rubbing over his. He tilted his head and saw she had propped herself up on one arm, she was staring down at him. "Tell me, which one was the one that slept with him?"

He took a breath, not expecting that question _right this second. _"The outer Moka. I'm certain her inner self pushed her, but the fact still remains."

"Tsukune, I love my daughter, I was never able to be there for her because of my duties, but I always want to protect her. That is why I showed you these Blood Trials. I knew you were a good enough man that you would choose the most effective way to show her that she was wrong."

"Anyone can show her the error of her ways. The question is, will she learn from them?"

"I can only hope, for both your sakes. Tsukune, do you still love her?"

"Yes. But even after this trial is over, she will have to work to earn my trust back. For all I know it may take years, if ever completely. I don't take well to having my heart broken. I'm certain we will become friends again, maybe even lovers after a time. I don't know though if I can let myself be bound to her on that level again. Not now."

"I can understand that. Tsukune, do you consider yourself still bound to her?"

"Well, the bond has been suspended, but not yet absolved. I know I am bound to her till I say otherwise. But no. I don't consider myself bound. In fact, I _can't_ consider myself bound in that way."

She noted his emphasis, "Why?"

"I have other people I need to set things right with. I don't want Moka to feel bound to me because I now consider myself free of her. I have to be able to give myself to these other people before I give myself back to her."

"True enough. Tsukune, how are you going to go about your own trial? You said you have friends you have wronged. I am assuming you mean that gaggle of girls that you met in high school."

"Yeah. They have always been important to me, but I was kinda fixed on your daughter at the time. I hurt all of them, and I think it was in ways that could have been avoided."

"How so?"

"Well, that's what I am going to have to figure out. Now, Akasha, what, if anything, are you gaining from this?"

"Am I that easy to see through?"

"Well, considering your daughter and I basically broke up tonight in the most horrible way I could imagine, your actions tonight don't really say otherwise."

"I guess that's true," She paused for a moment, looking away. She sat up in bed, thinking on what to say next. After a long moment, she spoke, "Do you know why I absolved my bond with Issa? He did the same thing Moka did. Only he did it after decades of fooling around with other women. I wanted a monogamous relationship, he did not."

"Same thing I wanted. Still want, though in all honesty, it probably won't end up that way in the short term."

"Why not?"

"Basically my friends all want my hand in whatever they consider marriage."

"Really? Tell me about it. I've been watching you and my daughter for years, but never really understood your group's dynamic."

He took a deep breath and began to explain the situation he knew he was soon going to find himself in, "Well, I have a succubus who believes me to be her destined one, I have a yuki-onna who, while married, at the very least is still seeking to have my children, and I have two witches, one with a serious issue. She wants me to be her master, some bondage fetish she's got," Akasha giggled softly. "finally, the other witch has always adored Moka and I. If I remember correctly, she, 'wanted to be the meat in the vampire sandwich.'"

"Oh dear, that's the young one, right?"

"Yeah. Now though, I have two more chasing me. Both of them are vampires. Both are strong, smart, beautiful in their own ways. The difference is that one is clearly sadistic while the other has a kindness to her that she lets very few people see. She can't reveal it though, save for in private, lest she appear weak."

"You know that I can be quite cruel Tsukune." He sat up to look her in the eye.

"I know. It's the same cruelty that runs through my veins. The difference between us and other vampires though, It isn't ingrained in our psyche. We choose when to be cruel, and almost always for a good reason. You love unconditionally and hate very rarely, even after it has hurt you personally." He paused, his expression darkening slightly.

"If it hurts people you care about, that is reveals another side of you entirely. That side of you reflects your unbiased angers and hatreds. You know how things _should_ be, and are almost always correct. However, it takes either an act of great kindness, anger, will or respect to change them."

She simply looked at him after his comment, assessing him. It had been a long time since anyone she had practically just met had been able to read her that easily. She had always tried to maintain at the very least a strong image, all leaders needed to. He had seen right through that and seen her true nature. She knew it was because he was the same way. He had stolen her daughter's hearts, protected them and lived through having his stomped on by both her inner and outer personalities.

She leaned in to kiss them when they felt, at first a large flow of demonic energy release. This large flow was followed quickly by a _huge_ one that they both recognized on a subliminal level. Energy of that level meant a Shinso. Tsukune rushed to the small balcony, grabbing his pants as he went, hopping into both legs somehow at the same time.

He reached the railing just as an explosion occurred by the cliff side. He could just barely make out one figure standing over another sprawled on the ground. The victorious figure turned and continued making their way to the cliffs, their power abating completely.

Tsukune swung over the railing and dropped the fifty feet to the main roof. Running down the slant at breakneck speed, he propelled himself into a full jump off the roof, clearing dozens of yards horizontally, and dropped close to seventy feet vertically. When he hit, he rolled, keeping his momentum and avoiding injury. He was close enough to see that the moving figure was draped in a blood red dress. 'Moka.'

He dropped to his knee at the defeated figure's side, 'How the hell did Moka beat Ria after having her blood drained?' he thought to himself. He checked her pulse, and took off again, happy that Ria was still alive. He saw Moka nearing the edge of the cliff. He was still too far away. He summoned his Shinso blood into him again. He directed his energy into his legs, lungs and heart, giving him a huge burst of speed. It still wasn't enough.

Time slowed as he watched her fall forward, head first off a multi thousand foot cliff. The energy she had held moments before was no longer a part of her. She would not survive. Committing to his choice, he knew he had to try to save her.

**A/N; Enjoy the cliff hanger. I am at this moment two chapters into the second arc. Expect me to post within the next couple days. After that, I intend to update at least once a week or whenever i finish another chapter, whichever is sooner ;) **

**2; For eveyone who is bothered by it, I try to set lemons in my stories up to avoid upsetting you. Please don't send flame reviews in on this issue, a valid critique or like is appreciated. In the end, I'm still going to put lemons in the story (even if they will only average one, max of two per ARC (maybe a couple more in Kurumu's, i mean she is a succubus)). I section them off so you don't have to be uncofortable. **

**3; Don't be afraid to click that little link that says 'review'. It only takes a second and, I may just take a suggestion into effect ;) writing style critiques, please be specific and point out the issue. Thanks!**


	9. Chapter 9, Arc 2, Reflections

**A/N; Here's the first chapter in Arc 2. Enjoy**

Tsukune's world stopped. He watched, racing towards the woman who had hurt him, broken him, but who he still loved and wanted to protect, as she stepped off a mountainous cliff, plunging headfirst towards a lake thousands of feet below.

He dove off the cliff as well. He pulled his arms in tight to try to streamline himself. She was fifty feet below him, now forty, now thirty. A lake was rushing up to meet the both of them. He drew forth more energy and unleashed his wings. The added resistance cost him distance to her. He quickly recovered, drawing them around him, the added aerodynamics rocketing him forward like a missile. Thirty feet, twenty, ten, five feet between them. He reached forward. They were still a thousand feet above the water, but falling fast. Three feet, two, one, 'Got her!'

His hand wrapped around her dress and he pulled her to him inside his wings, she was completely unconscious. Holding tightly, he spread his wings, trying desperately to slow them down, to no avail and a great deal of pain. The air resistance against his wings felt like something was trying to rip them off.

He was stronger though. He instead banked with his wings and felt himself start to level out. A thousand feet, seven hundred, four hundred. He was starting to pull away from the cliff face. Three hundred, two hundred, one hundred. He was still descending at an angle. He banked his wings more to the desired effect. Fifty feet, thirty, fifteen, ten feet. He was almost perfectly level.

At his closest, he was barely three feet over the lake at the foot of the cliff. Finally, some part of his mind reset itself. His fears of losing his loved one abated. 'I'm flying! Sweet!' he was allowing his body to act naturally, his powerful wings stroking through the air practically of their own accord. He angled them so he was going upwards.

He ascended slowly at first. However, he was quickly climbing, heading back for the castle. Moka started to awaken. He had found himself holding her against him, bridal style being totally unpractical with the angle he was flying at. She had clearly not expected to wake up flying over water. She didn't scream, simply hugging tighter against him. "What happened?" she yelled against the rushing wind after a moment.

"You knocked Ria out and jumped off the cliff. I give you mad props for knocking her down a peg, not so much for trying to kill yourself," he shouted back.

She nodded against him; he could practically feel her smiling at the first comment. "I don't remember anything after the trial. I saw you finish taking my blood and then everything went black."

'Damn. Not good,' he thought. "We'll talk about it at the castle. It's been a long night for both of us. You at least deserve to have a decent conversation about the whole thing."

"Sure. At the castle." He continued on towards the castle, not exactly looking forward to the conversation.

* * *

Akasha watched alongside Issa from the main balcony as Tsukune drew closer. The man next to her spoke softly, mirroring her very thoughts, "That man is something else…Something sorely needed in our world."

"Indeed," she agreed, "Issa, if their circumstances had fallen upon us, would you have risked your life to have saved mine after hurting you?"

Issa visibly hesitated, "Tsukune is a very different man than I. If you had been capable of hurting me that deeply on an emotional level, it pains me to say it, but no. I would not have." He turned and walked away from his former mate, "They will need time to speak alone. I think it best if you stop your advances for tonight. There is always another day."

She whispered to herself as he walked away, "Had you seen what I have, you would not believe that to be so."

* * *

Tsukune landed with Moka in his arms and set her down carefully. He took her hand and led her through the castle to her chambers. Sitting her down on the bed, he pulled up a chair from her table and sat across from her. He studied her for several minutes, evaluating her. "You aren't the same as the other two, are you?"

She looked up at him and silently shook her head no and looked back down. He waited for her to speak, which she did after several uncomfortable minutes, "I don't know what is going on Tsukune. I have both of them in my mind. I can hear them talk to me, and I can answer them. Omote and Ura-chan used to do the same. I don't know how I woke up. It's like I was always there, only ever able to listen, never to speak. That magic that was used, it woke me up. All I could feel was…a weight, like it was suffocating me, crushing me. The first thing that I remember since then was you carrying me."

Tsukune was silent, simply thinking over what he had felt earlier and was hearing now. "Moka, I don't have much better ideas than you as to your actions. I think that your Shinso blood is part of this somehow. When you…awoke, it felt almost exactly the way Akasha feels or the way I feel. I don't know why your Shinso blood wasn't removed by the magic of the trial."

She looked up at him when he finished, "Speaking of mother, why do you smell like her?"

"Well, she took me to her rooms and spent part of the night with her," he didn't think she needed to know about the sex.

"Sleeping with her or…having sex?"

'I don't want to lie, but… it's too early after all this not to,' he thought to himself. "We just slept next to each other."

"Why?" he could _feel_ the hurt in her eyes.

"What her reasons are, I don't know. Mine were simple. I wanted some physical comfort after my wife betrayed me for my best friend."

She almost physically recoiled from that verbal blow. "Tsukune, I just want to know one more thing, did you ask or did she offer."

"She offered."

"Then I can't blame you for accepting. Tsukune, I want you to know that I am sorry. Omote and Ura-chan did this of their own volition."

"You say this like you weren't part of that."

"I wasn't. Until now, they weren't even aware of me."

"Do you love me?"

"Yes, the love they had for you was deeper than what you may think. It was deep enough to affect me completely."

He stayed silent for a moment, "It obviously wasn't as deep as their pride." He stood and moved to the door.

"You're only half right," she whispered, "It wasn't pride, but rather fear that drove them. Fear of their past."

He stood, hand on the door, hesitating. Finally he answered her, "They should have trusted me enough to make sure that would never happened. I would have given my life for them, almost did tonight actually. Get some rest. Tomorrow will be a difficult day for you."

He turned and smiled at her, the kind smile she didn't think she would ever see again, "Moka-chan. I know you aren't the one responsible for this. I am sorry that you have to be the one to bear the burden of their mistake. Maybe you can help change the women I fell in love with. Maybe after all this is done, something will be able to come of us after all. I hadn't expected another personality to surface. Good night." Hope filled her heart as he left. She would bear this burden, and she would help this man she loved, but in her own way, had only just met tonight.

* * *

Akasha had finally reached her room. She quickly locked her door behind her, not wanting anyone to bother her at this moment. She walked over to her dresser, looking into the box holding the Bloodstone. She lifted the gem from its resting place. The gem was still blood red, but instead of holding a black swirl, a crack had appeared inside.

She laid back into her chair and thought on her actions earlier that night, 'Damnit,' she thought, rubbing her eyes in frustration, 'I moved way too soon. I shouldn't have done that to Tsukune, not now.' She let memories fill her from an earlier time…

**Flashback**

Akasha was watching the latest exploits of her daughter and her that boy Tsukune. Some powerful half-breed had all but crushed the poor human after he had sacrificed himself to protect a weakened Moka. It was a shame really. He would have made a good vampire, of the kind that their world sorely needed. She watched as the boy fell, and saw Moka cradling him.

'Damnit Moka,' she thought, 'you're undefend-wait.' something happened that she hadn't expected, "What the HELL!"

He had started standing up. His body taking on an energy few knew about. She watched as he proceeded to destroy the older student using nothing but his fists. She knew what she was looking at. Her daughter did not. She immediately knew what her daughter was doing when she started attacking the boy. Moka assumed the boy had turned into a ghoul. This wasn't true at all. She was looking at a first time Shinso. She herself had gone through this and knew that it was eerily similar to what a ghoul experienced.

However with time, she had gained control of it, battling through legions of the damned. If her daughter was hurt…Before she could react, she felt a presence behind her. It was familiar to her even though it had been two hundred years. "Hello Mikogami." She smiled and turned to her old battle mate.

"Akasha-san, so good to see you…up and about."

"A mutual friend helped a bit there admittedly."

"I can see that. What, if I may ask, are you doing in my realm at this time?"

"Watching over my daughter."

"As I am watching over the young boy she is trying so hard to kill? Our…friend, has probably told you the same things as he has to me?"

"Only that my daughter will be important one day."

"Is that all? Funny, he left out the part about that boy being the only one able to save her from herself."

"WHAT! Damnit."

"I will save the boy. Your time to show yourself has not yet come."

"You knew that boy was Shinso?"

"He won't be if you don't let me help. His blood has almost worn out after recovering from that…impalement."

"Go. Keep my daughter safe Mikogami. This is your realm."

"I am quite aware of that Akasha. After all, I helped you gain yours."

She watched in silence as the headmaster of Youkai Academy moved down to stop the fight. He was joined by another figure, a witch, and did indeed stop the fight, giving Tsukune the seal he needed to come to terms with his new vampirism.

**End Flashback**

'Ever since that day, I've watched him grow into the vampire he is today, how he cleared all hurdles. How he wooed my daughter and won her hearts. Why is it that I am falling for him? I'm a thousand years older than him…' Suddenly, darkness invaded her mind. Time slowed as she was dragged through a void and landed with a painful crash in a dark room.

She had been here before. It was time for a meeting with her benefactor.

"Hello Akasha-san," a voice drawled in English. She could feel his presence, nothing more. He wasn't here physically.

"Hello. What do you want," she answered back in Japanese.

Understanding her perfectly, he continued on in English, "I am here to congratulate you on your seduction of Tsukune, the destruction of his trust for her and the facilitation for both their ascension to the rank of Shinso."

"You KNOW I didn't want this for either of them. Why must you torture me for what I did to them?"

The presence's strength seeped out a small amount, overwhelming her as he answered, "To protect this world Akasha Bloodriver." She still couldn't understand how something this dark could want to protect earth.

"I have been around too many lifetimes to be questioned by one such as yourself. You distinguished yourself to me by surviving not only my old realm, but surviving for ten years inside of Alucard, the being that _could_ have destroyed the world two hundred years ago. I have a great amount of respect for you. However, I still saved you from certain death."

She could feel the presence calm himself before he continued. "I turned from a path of pure sin long ago, before this earth even came into being the first time. My soul is still so black it would kill anyone not like me. However, light has begun to shine through."

"Take a look at the _palantri _Akasha. In just a few short years…" he trailed off as a pedestal rose through the floor. Atop sat an artifact that could be used to view the very soul of whatever person or being you were thinking of. She had done this once before, close to ten years ago. At the time only a couple small spots of light shone through a sea of darkness.

As she laid her hand atop the _palantri_, an image flooded her mind of the same sea. Several vividly large splotches of pure light shone through now, not enough to overcome the darkness, but enough to keep it at bay for the most part. She was dealing with a demon of unimaginable power. Enough to easily destroy this world and a hundred others like it. Why he chose a path of goodness was still a question whose answer evaded her.

"You want to know the answer to that question in your head?" He was _good_. She gritted her teeth. She had forgotten that this was _his _world. He knew every little snippet of a thought that went through her, or anyone's head. "I'll tell you next time. Someone wants to see you."

"You're evil and insane." That was her usual way of saying goodbye to this presence.

"Yes to the insane and you know I'm working on that evil part. Sadistic would have been better. Ciao!"

* * *

Akasha felt herself thrust back into her body. She started breathing again after the initial shock just as she heard someone knock at her door. "Akasha, are you in there, we need to talk." Tsukune's voice called through the door.

She grumbled softly, a schoolgirl-esque apprehension coming over her. She quickly banished the feeling and stood up and strode to the door. She unlocked it. And opened it a crack, "Yes?" she asked shyly. Crossing her eyes, she chastised herself again. She was a thousand years old and yet this twenty-five year old man was eating through her façade without even realizing it.

"I need to talk to you about Moka. I found out what was going on…I think."

'Oh thank god that's all-DAMNIT!' she bit her cheek before answering, "Come in." She moved from the door and went over to the small fridge in the room, pulling out two blood packs. She grabbed a couple glasses and motioned to the table. Carefully tearing the packs open, she poured one in each glass, offering one to Tsukune.

"Thanks," he took a gulp and set the glass down, proceeding to settle into one of the chairs at the table.

"So," Akasha said as she took the chair to his left, "What happened?"

"Well, she told me she blacked out after the blood trial and didn't wake till we were flying."

"Damn, I had hoped she would be able to tell me what happened that awakened her Shinso from within the Bloodstone."

"Well, the next thing she told me might be a part of that. Another personality has emerged. She said she can converse with the other two."

"WHAT?" Akasha was taken aback. She sat, mulling over the information she had been told. "The sealing ritual…" She looked up to Tsukune as he gave her a questioning look.

"When I sealed her for the first time, her Shinso blood had just awakened, setting off Alucard. The seal must have affected the Shinso and created a third, deeper personality. I wasn't around after that to monitor her, fighting to keep from being absorbed by a monster kept me busy. This may invalidate the Blood Trial Tsukune. The council took the fact that there were only two personalities responsible for her indiscre

Tsukune shook his head, "No, she told me that ever since she could remember, she had been…asleep, was the word she used. She had no conscious effect on the other two. And regardless, she has accepted the punishment and wants to prove herself to me. She said their love for me was deep enough to affect her. She wants to try to make them realize what they did wrong."

"Hmm…," Akasha was mostly silent as she took this into consideration. "We'll let it go now. Changing our plans would do more harm than good." She took up her glass and took a small sip. She was watching Tsukune fidget nervously. She knew exactly what was on his mind, but decided to play it off coyly, "There must be something else you wished to speak with me about…" she moved her foot gracefully up to his shin and rubbed against it gently.

She could see a shiver visibly run up his spine before he answered, "Y-yes there is. Why did you sleep with me tonight?" He was certainly straightforward. He was looking at her with penetrating eyes. The boy had a knack for making anyone slightly uncomfortable. Best not to lie…completely.

"Because I am attracted to you, Tsukune." An eyebrow rose. She raised one back.

"You have known me for two days."

"Wrong. I have known you almost as long as Moka has. The first time I really took note of you was when you fought that half-breed… when everyone thought you had become a ghoul…Your Shinso had its first awakening then. It's rather brutal, very ghoul-like actually. I don't blame my daughter for acting as she did. You were lucky that Mikogami...liked you. That seal gave you an advantage that I did not have. Mine awoke in the midst of being attacked by demons. I spent almost four months in my Shinso form, learning the hard and painful way to control it. Your seal allowed your power to mature over the past ten years."

"Before me, I see a man who is strong, smart, handsome, charismatic, kind and honest." She had moved her seat closer and was drawing up on him, leaning in closer and closer, "Most of all Tsukune…"

"Y-yes?" he stuttered at the hungry look in her eyes.

"You smell _SOOOO GOOD!" _She dove in and bit him on the neck, drawing his blood into her mouth.

"GAAH!" her attack toppled them over onto the floor. She managed to stay latched on to him though. He took it from her like he had her daughter. As she broke off, she wiped her mouth and mumbled a soft apology.

"You're mean," he said mockingly.

"I have been seeing my daughter do that for ten years. I only just now realized what she was addicted to."

"Just out of curiosity Akasha, what is it that makes me smell and taste so good to you and Moka?"

"You smell decadent, like mint chocolate. Taste a bit like it, too."

"_What_?"

"Really."

He drew nearer to her, causing her to back up against the toppled over chair. He had the look of a predator in his eye. It thrilled her and chilled her at the same time. When he spoke, it was softly, with a menacing tone, "You know what Akasha?"

"Y-yes?"

"You smell good too." He smiled as he dove in to return the favor.

* * *

**(a/n; Bold refers to Inner Moka, **_italics refer to Outer Moka, _underlined is the new Moka. Consider this to be the norm from here on out)

* * *

Moka lay on her back, staring at the ceiling. Fears about the upcoming months ran wild through her head. The voices of her other personalities were _not_ helping her mood in the least. When she had had enough of the one way argument, she allowed her mind to seclude. When she entered her mind, she stepped down from… something and walked up to a pair of mirrors angled to see reflections in each. To her left stood the reflection of Inner Moka. To her right stood the reflection of Outer Moka. After meeting face to face for the first time, Inner Moka was the first to speak.

**Why would you agree to help him? You know we were in the right.**

No we were NOT! Why you two would go through with that sickens me. You didn't even enjoy it yourselves.

_In the moment it was good…_

Bullshit on that. You didn't even know I was there and I was in your head the whole time. So was Ura-chan.

**I'll give her that, Omote. I was there too. You need to come to terms with the fact that we let him use us. That fact aside, how could we NOT be in the right? It is our body to do as we see fit. As soon as he apologizes-**

WHAT? Did you really suggest that I try to make him apologize for your mistake? I will not do that to him!

_Please stop arguing you two._

New Moka snapped. She felt power flood through her. She reached into the mirror and grabbed Outer Moka by her collar. With no small amount of effort she drew her out of the mirror and up to her face. **You are just as much to blame here as Ura-chan, it is time you experience your weakness firsthand. **Using all her strength, she dragged Outer Moka up to where she had entered this realm within her mind. There stood another mirror. The reflection showed the scene that her eyes were looking at in the waking world. New Moka forcibly picked Omote up and shoved her through the glass.

* * *

Outer Moka awoke suddenly. She could feel her body shift to this form. She quickly stood up and ran to her mirror, seeing herself. She was in her sealed form. She could feel the weight of the stress from the previous night wash over her, causing her to collapse against the dresser and start sobbing. As she sat there, she felt something tugging on her. After a few moments, she felt herself forcibly drawn out of the world.

* * *

Outer Moka had just reappeared in her mirror. She was clearly shocked.

**Are you alright, Omote?**

_I-I'm fine. _She looked up at the New Moka, _what was that?_

Apparently I can force you two into and out of the waking world. This will be useful. She was silent for a moment before she held up her arm, pointing to Inner Moka. Ura-chan. Your punishment for the duration of this trial will be to learn humility. You pushed Omote into doing this, using her valid fears from her childhood against her instead of trying to help her. She pointed to Outer Moka. You are going to learn how to trust. Tsukune has been nothing but a wonderful husband and mate to you. It was your weakness that allowed Ura-chan to destroy your marriage. Now Tsukune is sleeping with our mother, and while I am disappointed, I cannot blame him. 

We lied to him, we betrayed him, we broke him. After all this is said and done, I will be grateful to him if he decides to accept us back as nothing more than friends. His heart is very different than ours. His greatest weakness is his greatest strength. Ura-chan. Tomorrow morning, you will be the one to make the walk of shame. You will be the one being stripped of your dignity and bound to walk. During this time, you will acknowledge your mistake and will bear your burden however you think it best, whether as a proud vampress or a sniveling human. 

**Before you leave, what should we call you?**

Well, I am a reflection of the Shinso blood in our veins. Call me Sin.

She turned and walked into the reflection of her mirror. 'I will make those two see the truth.'


	10. Chapter 10, Arc 2, Baby Steps

**A/N; Sorry in advance, its been a long week. I am looking to submit chapters as often as I can. This will prove to be a long story and I don't want to be tied to it for two years. Some weeks, there will be several chapters posted, some will have no less than one. I have had some great PM's from people in the last week and took the time to plot out far in advance for the story. I currently have a poll up on my profile. The poll references possible events that may come to frutition in the third main arc-Kurumu's Arc. You vote, you will probably get what you ask for. Suggestions are welcome (They may even get added to the poll if they are good!). Thank you for waiting. Without further ado; Chapter Ten.**

Moka was lost in thought when she heard the knock at her door. She looked up as the door cracked slowly open. Her father, Issa walked in almost hesitantly. He looked away from her for a moment, as if searching for the right words to say. For almost a minute, she watched him hesitate, but when he spoke, it was clear and strong, "Moka, it is time. Dawn has broken." She stood silently, and walked over to him. She was dressed in a simple slip and plain slippers.

He looked down at her and quickly turned on his heel. He led her through the castle silently. For the next year, she would not be a part of his family. He was not to acknowledge her in the least. She walked behind him slightly, but held her head high. Her other personalities had shamed her family and husband in the worst ways possible, however she would have them know that this was not her mistake, but that she would bear the burden placed upon their shoulders. They could not hold it alone and still learn from their mistakes.

She knew her purpose, why she had been awoken. She would _show_ them their mistakes and _how _to learn the lessons. Each step they took echoed through the hallways of the castle, each step drew forth her resolve, which she met each time. She noted that she and her father were drawing to the front doors. They were held open, Tsukune, Akasha and Ria stood outside, waiting for them. 'Now they will see my resolve.' She stepped through the doors and looked first to Tsukune.

Akasha started speaking as Moka stopped in place. "Moka, you are here, now, to accept the punishment placed upon you by your Bloodmate. Will you accept this punishment?"

"To do that will require all of my voices to speak their mind." Sin-Moka spoke evenly and honestly.

Akasha shot a questioning look to Tsukune. His eyes widened and a smile crept onto the corner of his mouth. "What do you mean by that Moka?" he asked quietly.

"I will show you…" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The change was small, at first. Her pink highlights slowly crept out, her silver hair filling out. She looked up to him, her green tinged eyes going blood red. Akasha gasped as she realized what had happened. Ura-chan awoke.

"I will accept this punishment," her strong voice called out defiantly, "though I do not think it proper. I did nothing wrong, but will not go against decisions made by those stronger than myself." She closed her eyes again and bent her head. Her silver hair shifted as the pink started flowing back into it. She opened her eyes again, her emerald eyes almost glowing in the sun. Omote had awoken.

"I-I will accept this punishment," her soft voice wavering slightly, "I know I hurt my mate, however I still think it was the best course of action." She bent her head again and closed her eyes. Silver flowed back into her hair, pink hung back in even highlights. Sin had taken back control.

"I will accept this punishment, though I did not hurt my mate." Her voice stayed true and even. "I accept this punishment knowing that I must be the one to show them their mistakes. I will teach them the lessons meant to be conferred by this trial." She stopped and looked to her mother expectantly.

"Moka, I am now going to place the spells upon you that will bind you to your purpose. You will not be able to ask for help unless it is freely given. You will not be able to hurt another physically unless it is in self defense. Any tasks set before you, you must complete. ANY. Do you understand this?" Moka nodded to her mother. As Akasha drew forth the energy necessary to cast the spells, Tsukune laid a hand upon her arm to stop her. He drew forth Moka's hand and led her a few feet away, "Moka. I am glad that you are accepting this so graciously, however, I must ask to have our bond absolved."

"But, Tsukune, why?" Her resolve was cracking. He could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes already.

"Because I will not be able to stay faithful to you in the way that I know I must. You already know this. I do not want to look like a hypocrite to the other Moka's. It is unfair to them in the greatest way."

"I already know and I don't mind, I know you plan to visit Mizore and Kurumu and the others."

"With Mizore, if she will have me, I intend to give her a child, the same as what Omote and Ura-chan were looking to do."

"No Tsukune. They were doing it to hurt you. To _make_ you raise that child as your own. With Mizore, it will be _her _child. I already know this."

"But when it comes down to it, I feel I won't be free to do what I _need_ to do if I am bound. And further, if you find someone else, I want you to be free for them."

Moka tried to speak up, but Tsukune placed a finger to her lips, quieting her. He quickly drew her into a hug and whispered into her ear, "Moka, please, try to find love for yourself. I will understand if you don't, but _try._"

"I won't promise to like it, but I will allow it to happen if you ask it of me."

As they drew apart, he whispered, "Thank you." They walked back over to their family. Moka was the one to speak.

"We wish our bond to be absolved for the time being. If, after a year has passed and we feel we are both strong enough to go through with it, we may have it re-established."

Akasha looked to Tsukune, "Are you sure about this?"

The look in his eyes left no other answer.

She looked to Issa and then drew forth her magic. She quickly delved into them and found their link. Using eldritch strength, she drove forth at the bond like a blade. As soon as her magic touched the bond, however, her magic rebounded and shot back at her tenfold, striking her on a physical level, driving her back several feet. She was unprepared for the sudden onslaught of her own power and quickly collapsed to the ground.

"Damn," she groaned as she pulled herself into a sitting position. "Never had that happen before." Issa quickly gave her his hand, steadying her as she stood. "Tsukune, I am afraid that I cannot fulfill your request. That is not a normal bond between you."

Tsukune looked to Moka and back at Akasha, "What do you mean by that Akasha? What is going on?"

Issa was the one to reply. "Tsukune, most blood bonds are not made for love, but for strengthening the clan. Akasha clearly thinks your bond with Moka is different."

Akasha quickly cut in, "For now, You will continue on with your trials as originally planned. This can be spoken of at another time." She drew forth her power again and, more cautiously, laid the spells that would bind Moka. As soon as she was done, she released the magic and let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

She nodded to Moka, signaling that the spells were cast. "Ria, take Moka where you will. It does not matter, so long as she takes her first steps naked." Akasha turned and walked into the castle with Issa following close behind. Moka turned and walked silently to the limousine parked at the base of the steps.

"Moka!" Tsukune called to her. She turned quickly looking to him. "Try. Learn what you must, but try to do what I asked."

Her hair flushed pink, her eyes washed over in green. Omote had awakened. "I will Tsukune, you do what you must as well." She turned and let her hair flow back to highlights and stepped in the car.

"Brother dearest, I will make sure she starts off in the best place possible."

"Where would that be, middle of the desert?"

"Much worse, brother. She may actually get hurt." She laughed with a hag's cackle as she strode down the steps to the limo.

* * *

Tsukune found himself wandering the halls of the castle several hours later. He knew what he had to do, but did not relish the thought of it. He sighed loudly, "Damnit, lets get this over with." Gathering his resolve, he started the long walk to his destination. He ordered his thoughts, prepared arguments and counter arguments galore. His footsteps echoed in the otherwise silent halls, the sound agitating him, unconsciously, he picked up his pace.

Coming to the doors to Issa's private office, he knocked.

"Enter," a voice called out.

He opened the door and stepped inside quickly. Issa was at his desk, doing paperwork of some sort. He glanced up and caught Tsukune's eye. He set down his pen and leaned back in his chair.

"What do you need son?"

Tsukune took a breath and stepped forward, prepared for Issa's remarks. "I need to ask you two favors."

Issa nodded.

"The first is one you will not like." Issa visibly braced himself, clearly worried. "I need you to stop searching for the werewolf that Moka slept with."

Issa visibly relaxed, "Why is that Tsukune? Why shouldn't I hunt down this werewolf that soiled my daughter's-your mate's-womb?"

"Because I want to deal with him." His voice was even. Issa detected no hint of lie in the boy's voice.

"Then I will let you deal with him. Though, if it not to my satisfaction, I will have men step in."

"Understood."

"Then what is your second boon?"

"I need a car."

Issa smiled. "That, I have no problem granting. Come."

Tsukune soon found himself traveling through the dimensional tunnels with Issa in a limo. It was a silent ride, and rather quick. Before long, they pulled out of a tunnel into a warehouse district. Pulling up to one nearby, Issa opened the door and stepped out, Tsukune trailing.

"I keep all my cars here. One of the wonders of the modern age, no form of travel is more…exhilarating."

Tsukune did not quite agree with that statement, having just jumped off a cliff the night before. Issa continued, not noticing Tsukune rolling his eyes. "In here I keep my collection." He went to a keypad by the door and entered a series of numbers.

He heard a resounding 'slam' as an obviously heavy lock opened. Issa pushed the door open and revealed a black warehouse. Issa reached to the other side of the door and flicked a light switch.

Bank after bank of lights flickered on, revealing lines of cars stretching to the back of the football sized field of cars.

Issa stepped over to a computer near the door and switched it on. A touch screen rolled up. "A list of each car and their technical specs. There is every type of car from off-roaders to hyper-cars. You have your pick. The dimensional tunnels are open to you. I think you will find your way easily enough. This is where we part ways son. Come back to the castle as you wish. Its doors are open." He turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him.

"Sweet," Tsukune whispered.

* * *

To say Moka was nervous would be the understatement of the year. She was terrified. Yes, she would bear her burden well, but she could feel the magic of Akasha's spells working on her. The last thing Tsukune said was technically a task. 'Damnit, I hope this doesn't bother me too much. I don' _want_ to find someone new.' Ria wasn't making the trip any easier.

"Ooh, I am so glad for you, little sister!"

Moka couldn't believe it, but she was going to humor her, "And what, dear sister, do you mean by that?"

Ria smirked and cocked an eyebrow. "Why, you are about to start a whole new life!" She spoke as though Moka was no more than a little girl, "You get to go out and make new friends!" Ria laughed as she finished her mocking comment but quickly continued, "Though, on a more serious note, I am glad Tsukune will have his time away from you."

"Why?" Moka's eyebrows narrowed.

"You made your choice taking that dog into your delicate little-"

Moka lunged forward, shocking Ria. Her fingers were mere millimeters from grasping the older vampress by the throat, held back only by the spells. Moka drew closer to Ria. "I. Am. Not. Them. I did not make that choice. When this year is up, you had best remember that. I shall enjoy our time together then." She drew back and sat back into her seat.

"In the meantime then, I shall enjoy your mate." Ria folded her arms under her breasts and smirked.

"Tsukune is free to lay with who he chooses."

"So be it."

The limo suddenly pulled to a stop. The blacked out windows of the limo offered no clue as to where they were.

"Alright Moka, clothes, now." Moka nodded and removed her slip and slippers without hesitation, her hair flowing to silver as she did so. Ria opened the door for Ura-chan. The first thing Moka noticed as she stepped out was wet concrete. It was raining out. She looked around her. A grimy alley was the setting, the occasional person walking in the distance with umbrellas. Her hair quickly matted around her body, surrounding her naked, shivering skin. The young woman's will almost broke right there and quite possibly would have had it not been for the magic working on her.

"Moka, you will walk that way to the end of the block and take a right. You will continue walking until you stop. Understand." Moka nodded. "Then good luck to you. I would not wish to be you tonight."

Moka turned as the limo pulled away and started walking.

* * *

A black Camaro pulled up outside a set of buildings downtown in another city. Osaka. Tsukune stepped out and closed the door behind him. His target was inside; he knew what he had to do.

Walking up to a doorway leading to the upper apartments, he stepped inside and up the stairs. He came to a stop outside a green, paint chipped door. A set of brass numbers hung on the door; 21. The '1' hung crooked. The handle was a battered knob, worn from years of use.

The carpeting he stood on was shag and smelled of old vomit and alcohol. He was going over what happened a scant three nights before, suddenly feeling very tired as the scene replayed in his mind.

**Flashback**

"Good evening, Gin-sempai." Moka announced cheerily, her head cocked to the side and her hair draped freely over one shoulder. She nervously presented herself with one foot tapping the toe of her black heels against the floor as Gin warm brown eyes appraised her with restrained desire.

"It sure is," Gin offered her a single pink rose. When she took it with a quiet 'thank you', he touched her hand with his other and voiced warmly, "I must say I am surprised at you calling me out of the blue like this. You and Tsukune have been at each other necks lately. I hope he hasn't left you all alone for some handsome and ill reputable man to come and take you."

_Gin's words in specific rang through his mind. He was searching the older man's words for any hint of contempt._

"Moka," Gin sighed in exasperation, getting ready to leave with a shift in his posture, "I told you once and I'm not going to tell you again. Don't use me to make Tsukune jeal-mph!"

Pink haired Moka didn't even give Gin a chance to finish. Reaching up on her toes, she tilted her chin up and kissed him as she had Tsukune so many times. He could see her body react to his touches, the way her breasts mash against his chest and the way her cheeks flushed when they parted.

Gin slowly exhaled, his hand cupping the side of Moka's face. "I'm so glad you realized how much better I am for you, Moka-chan. I am curious, though, why like this? Why now? And why in front of your mate?"

_Even with his insult, there was no hatred. Tsukune quickly realized that Gin, while not actively doing much, was trying in a small way to support his friend._

Moka shook her head, even if her eyes were dilated by the very generous kiss he gave her, she looked away shamefully and insecurely at his questions. He had a right to know, but she couldn't really bring herself to say anything else, "If I was to let you father my children, would you keep them away from a human's influence?"

Her sempai blinked at her, then at Tsukune. "Is this the reason you called me here, Moka-chan? You and Tsukune are fighting about where your children are going to be raised and how?"

She nodded, her hands clasped in front of her, pleading.

"Tsukune wants them to be involved with his parents, his friends, his neighborhood, but I told him that I don't want them to associate with anything human. I had the worst time in my life when I was younger dealing with them. They didn't understand that they could learn from and respect people better than them, not belittle them and hate them. I won't let my children grow into that! I won't!"

Then Moka added with a heartfelt plea, "If I have your children, though, you must let them be raised around my family and stick to my family's influences."

"Strictly vampires, then?" he looked at her with his eyes narrowed.

"Yes," She nodded her head, her hands folded between her breasts in a beseeching manner.

"Who am I to deny you, Moka-chan?" he reached for her hands, allowing his fingers to brush between the cleft of her breasts, even grazing the rosario as he pulled her close to him. "I've always wanted to give you everything I could. Thank you for allowing me this honor."

They kissed again, easy learning the other's touches, their tastes, and their desire through such private contact.

Tsukune eyes took in everything, offering only that he was aware and very lucid to the happenings of what was once the woman in his life.

When they parted, Moka took Gin's hand into her own, turning to take him to the bedroom, Tsukune's and her bedroom.

"So this is the reason you're going to give up the most beautiful and wonderful girl in the world for? You're really going to let this happen when you can choose to end this right here and now, Tsukune?"

_The look Gin had given him didn't look so victorious from this point of view. Superior, yes, but his eyes held a pitying sheen to them. He heard himself speak, feeling each word cut into his heart._

Tsukune's voice was gravelly and soft. "I may not be a human anymore, but that doesn't mean that all humans see monsters as some of us do. I was more than happy to have my children be raised by vampires and learn their ways and customs, however I won't exclude what has made me the person I am today, the person she had fallen in love with and accepted as her mate. I would be lying to myself and to her. No, I won't allow it."

"Then it is chosen. Let's go, Gin." Moka wiped her eyes as she took another man into the bedroom of her and Tsukune's most private place. When she turned to Tsukune, she seemed to offer one last look of hope, one last quiet, regretful plea to don't let her do this, to stop her or do SOMETHING to stop the madness she was about to participate in. When he did nothing, she silently swallowed her hiccupped sob and whispered in a thick, quiet voice.

"Please, help me put an end to a decision Tsukune and I cannot come to grips with."I won't allow him to father them. I don't want a human's mentality to taint the upbringing of the next line of Akashiya. Would you do me the honors?""

Gin nodded while he closed the door behind him, allowing the sliver of light that speared the living room get smaller and smaller till it was nothing.

_His mind shot forward, past the pain, up to the moment his Shinso blood was released. Tsukune was back in his own body, watching everything play out through his own eyes._

The sound of them kissing reached him. Footsteps came towards the door, the knob turned, time slowed for Tsukune. As the door opened, Gin turned to Moka and said something. Tsukune removed his seal off his wrist. Demonic energy flooded the apartment, Tsukune morphed into his vampire form, only this time, things were different. The darkness that had overtaken him changed his vampiric body.

He sprouted large wings at first, ripping his shirt open, which quickly pulled back into his body of their own volition. He could feel his body amplify, growing taller and stronger. When the changes finished, he let out a deep breath, cracked his neck to either side and slowly, almost lazily, wrapped his large, clawed hand around Gin's neck and jerked his head into the door frame, quickly rendering the werewolf unconscious. Without a second thought, he grabbed the man by his hair and dragged him into the kitchen_._

_He could hear Moka screaming at him. She had wrapped a sheet around herself and was pulling it along._

To him, in the state he was in, it was all nonsensical. It was annoying. He held out his hand and yelled at her, "Silence!" he could feel a wave of pressure leave him and surround the apartment. He knew not why, but whatever he had just done would buy them as much privacy as they would need. Dropping Gin onto the floor, he reached into the upper cabinet above the counters and pulled out a box of silverware given to them by his mother as a wedding gift, antique sterling silverware. He opened the box and pulled out five butter knives.

Taking the unconscious Gin, he spread eagled him on the floor, face down. The malevolence that had overtaken him, that had planned this out, was being allowed to roam free. Tsukune not only did not want to stop what he knew was coming, but did not think he could. He turned to Moka, pulled a chair with him and sat her down on it. He pulled the sheet off her body, leaving it exposed to the air. She had been franticly pulling at her seal, but to no avail. She looked at him now with tear-filled emerald eyes.

_Looking deeply into them, he reached down and unlocked her seal. He could feel a blast of energy fill her, her emerald eyes morphing into blood red ones._

"I will have you know that this being you see is not your mate. This is the darkness of the blood you have given him. You carried with you a secret passed to you by your mother through her blood. Shinso. He cannot control me as of now. I am merely acting out his anger for him."

_He could feel himself speak, the words thick in his ears._

"Do not hold this against him. He doesn't want you hurt. The dog will live through this, but will remember his sin for the rest of his life. I would personally prefer if you allowed me to do my part in this without interruption. I do like an audience however. You may continue to watch."

_The dark chilling voice coming from his mouth left no room for her to do anything. 'Move, and the dog will not be the only one receiving this punishment,' is what the voice implied. His view suddenly changed again, this time to Moka's view_

She watched in removed terror as he took up the first knife and looked it over contemplatively. In a flash quicker than her eye could catch, the monster impaled the knife through Gin's wrist and bent it over locking the wrist in place. The werewolf screamed in pain, the silver in the knife causing most of it.

The monster leaned down and whispered in the werewolf's ear, "Scream all you wish. We have privacy. But do not fight back. I won't hesitate to kill you. Understand?" Gin nodded his head yes against the linoleum. The monster picked up three of the other knives and repeated the process. Another was placed in the other wrist and one in each knee. Picking up the last knife, he chuckled. Looking at Moka, he said one phrase, meant as much for her as Gin. "You are an unwelcome guest in this home. Know your place."

_The vision shot forward, past where he left her and the werewolf staked to the ground. He knew his blood-bond was taking memories from Moka and showing him._

Moka sat in the bathtub, sobbing.

_Why did you let him go Ura-chan? Go after him!_

_**NO!**_** I made no mistakes here. HE is the one that must realize what he did wrong.**

_Why not find him, explain. _

**Did you feel the power rolling off of him? If we went after him now, he may kill us!"**

_No, Tsukune would never hurt us. Not even after this._

'_How wrong she would have been,' he thought to himself._

**No. It is best that we make sure Gin has a chance to recover. We can deal with Tsukune later.**

_I can't believe this. Why did we do this? __He could feel her sobbing inside her own mind._

**We did this because we needed to put him in his place.**

_The memory started darkening around him, _he could feel himself drawn back into the waking world. The vision he had just seen had shown him something new. Something he didn't expect. He quickly reached out and knocked on the door.

"Just a Minute!" he could hear Gin jumping to his feet past the door. Footsteps drew near the door. It suddenly swung open, "Whaddya wan-" Gin's voice caught in his throat. "T-Tsukune, what do you want?" he asked nervously.

"I'm here to save your life." The look Tsukune held clearly conveyed a 'no bullshit here' look.

Gin's mood changed suddenly. "Come on in. We can talk." He held the door open for Tsukune, the younger brushing past the older. Gin stuck his head out in the hall checking both directions before closing the door, locking several bolts on the inside.

"You know that won't help."

"Yeah, I know. Want a beer?"

"Sure."

Gin walked to his fridge and grabbed out two beers. He flicked his wrist over the heads and sent the bottle caps spinning across the room fast enough to embed them in the wall. He handed one to Tsukune and took a deep swig from the bottle. "So," Gin started, "Should I believe you or run for my life from a pissed off husband."

"I've made you suffer enough."

"Fuck yeah! Those damn scars are permanent according to my shaman. God, Sun's gonna be pissed..."

"If it helps, that wasn't technically me back there."

"Don't I fuckin know! YOU don't sprout giant wings, grow six inches and have black and red tattooing cover your body. What was it?" The werewolf took another deep swig, draining the bottle.

Tsukune took a small sip before answering. "It's an ancient bloodline that awakened in me that night. Not much is known about it, but the initial awakening is usually brutal for the target. I'm sorry."

Gin merely brushed it off. "The past is the past, besides, you didn't actually cripple me, though the skin is a bit tight on the back. Can't blame you for your reaction. Just glad you didn't kill me. Now, who is after me and why?"

"Moka's father, specifically his men. And why do you think?"

"Gotcha."

"I told him I was going to take care of you. He told me that he was going to make sure the job was taken care of."

Gin merely nodded. "We need a plan then… And I think I have just the thing!" he smiled and ran to his phone.

Tsukune merely shook his head and followed his…'Well, what is he?' Tsukune thought. 'Ah fuck it.' He followed his friend into his bedroom, curious as to the wolf's plans.


	11. Chapter 11, Arc 2, Deceptions

"Lord Akashiya, I have a report from the goblin you sent to watch Tsukune," Ria spoke evenly. "It seems that an explosion occurred after several hours of Tsukune having been in the apartment. A body was found and was confiscated by our local Fairy Tale branch. It was a werewolf in full form. Further tests are being done, however he seems to physically match all reports of the mutt that defiled Moka-san. Notably, the necklace symbolizinsyg his place in their clan was found on him."

Ria paused for a moment, checking her phone before continuing. "The clan elder has confirmed the body to be him. Tsukune has disappeared in the meantime."

"Is that all, Ria?" Issa asked casually.

"Yes my lord."

"Good. I am glad my son was able to take care of this properly. It has tied up that loose end. You have already had the local branch provide a backstory to the explosion?"

"Propane leak. The apartment complex had a history of safety issues. It fits perfectly."

"Good. You may retire for the night."

"Yes Lord Akashiya."

* * *

**Several Hours Earlier**

"Elder Nashima, its Gin. Is Takigana still awaiting his punishment? Good, I have one that may fit him. Could you have a couple of the guys bring him over to my place. I have a vampire from the Akashiya clan that needs a dead werewolf body. Yes, he can handle it. Thanks. An hour? Good. Bye." Gin hung up the phone and turned to Tsukune.

"Well, we have some prep work. The guy they're bringing confessed to having killed several pups-children of the clan- a few weeks ago. They've been sitting on him waiting to off him. That provides a body for us. Tell me Tsukune, ever seen an alpha?"

"A what?" Tsukune asked cautiously.

"An alpha werewolf. They're werewolves that have undergone certain rituals to enhance their speed and strength. They aren't as…bound to the moon as a normal werewolf. Their speed and strength far surpasses what mine would be even during a full moon, and they don't have to worry about a fucking cloud blocking their energy."

"Sounds dangerous. Think I can handle him?"

"I sure hope so." Gin took a deep breath and looked around, "I gotta prep this place for demolishing. Unhook that gas line to the stove quick, I'm gonna rig up a lighter system to go off once you leave."

"Kay, anything else you want me to do?"

"Yeah, get some of the people out of here. Go to the nearest couple apartments and tell them that I'm planning on throwing a hell of a party."

"Bad rep?"

Gin paused and smiled, "You could say that."

After a half hour, Tsukune had cleared the nearby apartments in a circle around Gin's and had come back to the place. He could smell the propane almost filling the apartment. "Gin, you almost finished?"

"Yeah man, just placing the thing now!" he called from the bedroom. After a minute, Gin stepped out into the main room. "Now, we wait."

"Yeah."

An awkward silence filled the room. Neither wanted to break it. Gin surprised Tsukune by being the first to do so, "I know it doesn't count for much, but I am sorry."

After several tense moments, Tsukune asked him the question that had been on his mind, "Why?"

"Well, it was a couple things. First off, I didn't think you'd actually let her go through with it. Second, there may have been more than a couple drugs involve. I think I wasn't thinking right in the first place, let alone thinking clearly enough to turn her down."

"Gin, do you know why I'm here today, saving your life?"

"Honestly, I don't understand why you didn't kill me that night."

"It's because I need a reason to believe that people can recover from mistakes. Don't get me wrong, we aren't gonna be buddy-buddy again. But, you've saved my ass before. And I know that there is something waiting for you. You let your dick think for you way too much. You told me at the bachelor party _you planned_, that you had Sun waiting for you. Why the hell would you still fuck around like you do?"

"You might think this is bullshit, but it's because Sun's gonna outlive me for a long while unless I can become an alpha. To become an alpha, a werewolf needs to learn about themselves. Each has their own way, unfortunately mine was making the mistake of betraying two friends."

Suddenly, Tsukune heard people outside Gin's apartment. He knew it was time. "Gin, after tonight is done, do whatever you must to do the right thing. This is my squaring up with you."

Gin gave him a thumbs up, "Got it."

* * *

Tsukune suddenly found himself wondering what he had gotten himself into. Gin had grabbed a bag, opened the door to find three extremely similar looking werewolves waiting, and left with two of them. The third was a massive man, nearly seven feet tall. He shifted into his true form and moved towards Tsukune without a hitch. The power radiating from this beast was massive.

He kept from falling into his full shinso form. The beast in front of him was still larger than him, but he could feel its power. He knew he could kill this beast, but he wondered at how many broken bones he'd have.

The alpha started moving forward, but Tsukune decided to take the first strike, he shifted forward and took the beast under the ribcage, tossing him back through the wall, through the hallway and into another apartment. The alpha roared and Tsukune quickly found himself shouting back at it, creating a similar effect around the building as he had done on the night his wife betrayed him.

He used that anger now to his advantage as the beast dashed forward and clawed at him with massive dagger-like nails. Tsukune dropped and spin kicked the beast in the side, tossing him into the wall. The Alpha quickly bounced back and took Tsukune in the side of the head, spraying his blood everywhere.

Tsukune backed off as blood dripped over his left eye, blinding it. He answered the attack with an upward jab that missed by a hair's breadth. The wolf was suddenly behind him as he spun, a knee suddenly appearing in his ribcage. He could feel bone give way. He was surprised, however, when he backed off and felt it heal right back up.

The wolf moved again and took Tsukune in the gut, claws breaking through the skin and tearing at his organs. He could feel blackness overtake him.

* * *

Takigana was exhilarated. He was taking this vampire apart blow by blow. He'd been told that if he could defeat this beast, he 'd be exonerated. Sure, he may have killed a few kids, but that would be forgotten quickly if he defeated this beast. This vampire had a strength that he wasn't certain he could match at first, but as he rained blows down, he could feel the life draining out of his opponent.

He smiled as he dropped a heavy claw onto this mewling vamp. He tried to pull back after his attack connected, but his arm wouldn't budge. He looked on in shock as he realized this vampire had caught his blow and was holding it firmly. He kicked upwards, but had his kick blocked off by the vamp's knee.

The vampire suddenly sprouted two huge wings and smiled, showing the needle like maw of a demon. The wolf howled as the teeth sunk into his neck, but the howls were quickly cut off as he now felt his own life force drained. His blood was pouring into this creature and he could do nothing to stop it…

Tsukune looked down at the body as his shinso side abated. He could feel the werewolf's blood absorb into him in a way no other blood had. The strength was burning through his limbs, filling them out slightly, adding several inches to his height. He felt alive, and knew it was time to leave. He walked into the bedroom and activated the device Gin had built, a simple blow torch attached to an egg timer. Perfect for setting off a shit-ton of propane gas.

* * *

Ria stood outside the burnt out apartment building, waiting to talk to family of the deceased Gin Morioka. The three werewolves finished talking to one of the detectives after several minutes. They growled slightly when she stepped forward. "You were clan brothers of the deceased?" They all were about the same height, almost 6'6", and all had the same shaggy black hair. They all looked the same to her. The youngest looking of the three stepped forward.

"Yes, we are."

"Do you understand why he was killed?"

Another stepped forward and nudged the younger, "Yeah, he was a dumbass who slept with the wrong vampire princess."

"Exactly. If we hear of any similar incidents from this clan for the next hundred years, the clan will be wiped out. That is the order I have from your dark lord."

"Understood," they all said as one.

She turned and walked away, almost feeling the slime from these lesser beings coating her. She stepped quickly into her limo, "Driver, Castle Akashiya." There was something that bothered her about this. Werewolves were normally much more protective of their clan brothers. She'd have to ask Tsukune about this after this first month was up…

* * *

As Gin watched the limo drive away, he headed to the bar a block down and used their phone to call Tsukune, "Yeah man, she bought the bluff. Good thing I'd never met her before."

"Good luck to you then."

"You too. Thanks." He hung up and turned around to walk out the door, never to set eyes upon Osaka again.

* * *

**a/n; Been far too long. Finally caught a break. Expect the next week to see this arc finished out. The last chapter left a number of people angry about how Tsukune viewed Gin, however it is crucial to the story plot that Gin and Tsukune end on a halfway decent footing, plus thats how im writing it. Hope you enjoy.**

**P.S. anyone who has a decent hand at sketching, gimme a pm if you like the story enough to do pro-bono work. i need some help sketching out some characters/scenes if youre interested.**


	12. Ch 12, Ac2, The Night of the Blood Snow

'God damnit,' Tsukune thought to himself, 'What the hell am I gonna do now?' This question came to mind due to the road to the Yuki-onna village being covered in thirty feet of snow and rock. 'Well, better start hiking…" he reached into his car and grabbed his bag from the front seat and tossed it over his shoulder. He quickly checked his phone, at a text he had received the night before.

_Tsukune, major battle earlier today, something happened, need help. Please come.-Mizore-chan_

'Thirty miles out, late in the day, temperature falling fast,' he looked off to the south. A solid black front was moving towards the mountains fast, 'and a snow storm. Great.' He unlocked his seal and placed it in his bag. The energy from his vampire side flowed into him. He could feel a slight shift in his energies from the blood he had ingested from the alpha he had killed the night before.

He took a deep breath and started bounding up the avalanche slide.

* * *

**Two days earlier**

Mizore Shirayuki found herself tired. She had been out on a scouting mission all night brought on by increased yeti traffic in the area. Two of their village's population had been killed.

Needless to say this had not made the Snow Priestess happy.

Mizore had been set as the head of the team sent out due to her combat prowess. A good thing too; they had come upon a cave full of the beasts. The others with her were good fighters, but simply not in the same league as she was.

**Flashback**

Their hike had been interrupted by the howl of one of the beasts, the five of them were quickly set upon by a dozen of the foul things. One of the women in her group fell quickly to the arms of a particularly large yeti. Mizore had shifted and produced a wave of ice shrapnel that speared the beast, felling it. She summoned a spiked club of ice and jumped into the fray, smashing another in the head.

A yeti fell to one of the males off to her right; however the male on the left was…fencing with two yetis, barely holding ground. "Fall back fifty feet!" she called out suddenly. She broke off combat with the yeti in front of her and threw up a wall of solid ice.

She and her companions dashed down the hill and started building columns of ice, as the yeti finally broke through the wall, they started using the ice columns as disc shooters, peeling off a razor sharp layer at a time, flinging dozens of them at the yeti, quickly turning them into a spray of blood.

Mizore called for her companions to gather up the fallen yuki-onna as she collapsed the ice cave over whatever may have been left inside

**End Flashback**

She looked down at her hands, covered in blood from the yeti she had killed. She sighed outwardly as she headed inside her cabin to wash. Their group had been harried all the way back, rocks crashing down around them, taking one of the males and the female that had fallen earlier. Others from the village were heading out in force to recover the bodies.

Mizore was staying behind to rest.

Word came in several hours later that the yetis were massing in the high mountains, obviously prepping for battle.

Over the next twenty four hours, Mizore built ice walls around the village, and around several key buildings in town. She and her mother directed others to fortify the main gate with ice columns taller and wider than the ones she had built on the mountain. Her mother was currently busy compressing down ice into decent shields to make them useable in hand to hand combat. When the battle started, Mizore would lead the offensive measures, Tsuara would handle the defense.

Mizore had several ice clones placed at strategic intervals outside the village. They would light signal fires at one mile, half mile and quarter mile distances to warn the village. For now though, she would spend time with her family. Her husband would be helping man the defenses.

She entered her home and found it cold and dark. Her family, her two beautiful daughters and husband, was sitting huddled up in the main room. She sat down with them and allowed her youngest to crawl up in her lap and press against her.

Her husband placed a sheltering arm around her. She loved her husband as a friend, one that had provided her with daughters she loved. However, she knew she was no more than a friend to him. Theirs had been a marriage of necessity.

His wife had died in an avalanche a year previous to her graduation. Having graduated from Youkai Academy and having witnessed Tsukune's marriage to Moka, she had no choice save to marry him. He was gentle and soft-spoken and was extremely kind to her. He allowed her to choose when to consummate their marriage, allowing her the time necessary to adjust.

She would always be thankful to him for that. They became strong friends before she allowed him to seed her womb. Oddly enough, she became pregnant after their first time, something that few other yuki-onna experienced.

Her mother had the same happen to her with Mizore, but childbirth had wrecked her, unfortunate to Mizore as she had always wanted a sister. 'I guess that blue haired bimbo over in Las Vegas is good enough,' she thought fondly of Kurumu the succubus. They still saw each other once a year, however she had to fly there to see Kurumu due to her banishment.

She allowed herself to drift off to thoughts of her friends and family, half asleep with her children in her arms and her husband holding them all.

* * *

A horn blared, awakening her. 'That was supposed to go off at the half mile mark,' she thought. She looked around her house, finding it empty. 'Hataro must have taken the children to the priestess's hall.' Mizore dashed out to the main gate in the darkness, finding it well guarded.

She took her position at the wall, "Men, Women, prepare for war," she called out, "It has been hundreds of years since a battle of this scale has occurred on our lands. Let's remind these beasts of why the yuki-onna RULE THIS LAND!" a cheer rose up behind her.

The advancing horde was hundreds strong, no, there was a fog on the mountain, more shapes formed behind the front ranks of beasts. A fire went up at the quarter mile mark. This provided illumination. The front ranks gleamed, as though covered in metal, she squinted, "They have armor…WHAT THE FUCK!"

She reached out with her powers, joined by several others who were quite strong, they froze the fog and clouds over the mountain, causing a short ice shower, but allowing the full moon to cast illumination over the yeti force. Their force was clearly clad in armor, heavy and crude, but armor none the less. She refocused again, a smile creeping to her lips.

They didn't have boots. "Yuki-onna, make these yeti dance!"


	13. Chapter 13, Arc 2, The Harbinger

The horde advanced quickly now. Its front ranks had fallen quickly to Mizore's ice spike field; however they were now so close to the walls that it wasn't terribly effective. She noted that there were several especially large yetis interspersed through the ranks. Maybe two dozen at the most. They did have boots, and were carrying massive spiked clubs and war hammers as tall as her. "Nalsa! Get your archers to take out those giants! They get to the wall, it's gonna be gone!"

"Roger," one of the females yelled back. She pulled out a longbow made of ice, pulled an icicle out of a quiver and shot it in a high arc. The icicle hit, and pierced one of the yetis a ways out, but it caught in the armor, not doing much damage.

"Keep at it!" Mizore yelled. 'Where did they get this armor?' she thought to herself as she tossed an ice disc at a nearby smaller yeti. She took out the creature's feet, knocking it over. Arrows started raining down around her and her fighters. She threw cover over herself and stopped several inches from her face.

She looked out over the battlefield. Only the front few ranks had reached the walls. She paused and drove forth with her power, a blade of ice fifteen feet wide and strong as steel shot forth from the wall, spinning so fast, it looked to be an even disc. She directed the blade through the thickest mass of bodies on the field, removing dozens from the battle.

Arrows continued to fall, "Nalsa, take out their archers!"

"Working on it Mizo-" Mizore watched as an arrow took her friend through the throat. Several others had fallen as well.

She lept back up and continued her blade assault for ten minutes, cutting down hundreds. When she finally paused, she was drained. Catching her breath, she noted that while she had cleared a large number, there were ten times as many as she had cut down. There were perhaps a thousand dead.

She, being the strongest yuki-onna there, had taken down a third of their number by herself. The rest had fallen to the fifty odd defenders of the gate with her. Most of them were tiring faster than her. There were maybe fifty others in the village, most of them protecting the children.

They would not make it.

The horde moved forward. They came rushing now. The pause in battle was being taken advantage of. There were fifty yards out. Not enough time suddenly, she heard a scream. She looked to her right; a body lay just below her, an arrow through the man's chest. 'Hataro.'

Mizore felt the world slow around her, then stop all together. A warp in the world surrounded her. A voice boomed at her, "Mizore, you have fought well. You have surpassed any other yuki-onna I have ever met. Your blood flows stronger than even your mother's. It is a shame that I must come to you now and chastise you. You have chosen war with a race that has been peaceful for centuries. This is their entire population. Not a cub remains."

"Who are you? What right do you have to question the defense of my home?"

A flash of light filled her vision, reality caved in on her as the voice filled her mind, "WHAT RIGHT DO I HAVE? I HAVE THE RIGHT OF AN ANCIENT! THE RIGHT OF YOUR DIRECT ANCESTOR! THE RIGHT OF ONE WHO HAD DEFENDED THE PEOPLES OF THIS EARTH FOR MILLENIA!" A figure of blackness blotted out the light, a pair of eyes, one a blood red like a vampire's the other a clear amber unlike any she had seen before, stared her down.

"The cavern you collapsed the other night was their sacred breeding grounds, the place where their females had gone in secret to breed. The complex was huge, and where you were was but a single entrance. The collapse you caused triggered a larger one. Close to three hundred females dead, and almost as many cubs. Almost their entire next generation."

"There was no sign of a larger collapse! How do you know this?"

"How I know is not important. Nearby was the road to your village, a landslide caused by a nearly imperceptible tremor covered the road under thirty feet of snow and rubble from the mountain above. This tremor was the result of you weakening and subsequently destroying the complex. That is your proof; that is where you will check after this. Your scouts will report back such an event has occurred. Your village will try to determine the landslide happened and in their delvings will discover the remains of the complex under the mountain."

Mizore could feel the truth of his words. She sat speechless. After a moment, she was able to speak, "What will you do?"

"Put a stop to this conflict. And by the way, you do not rule this land. You are being allowed to live here. Your payment was to be peace. And say hello to Tsukune for me. I can't meet him yet. But I will." The being turned and returned time to normal. He summoned forth energies greater than she had ever felt and could feel the earth shake. A halo of light surrounded the man as his voice boomed out over the battle field, "PEOPLE OF THE MOUNTAINS, PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPONS. YOU BATTLE TO YOUR DEATHS OVER A MISTAKE. ENOUGH BLOOD HAS BEEN SHED."

The horde stopped dead in their tracks as he spoke. The yuki-onna on the wall backed away from him quickly as he continued to speak, "I AM THE LAST HARBINGER, TO HAVE FORGOTTEN ME SO QUICKLY REFLECTS THE STATE OF THE WORLD. END YOUR CONFLICT, RETURN TO YOUR HOMES TO TRY AND SALVAGE WHAT YOU CAN OF YOUR RACES. I HOPE I NEED NOT RETURN."

With a flash of light, he was gone. All beings stood still for what seemed like hours. Finally, one of the remaining large yetis strode forth. Mizore hopped the wall to meet him.

"You are one we seek, you killed children and mates," the large yeti spoke loudly.

"I know now what happened to rile you. A scouting party of ours was attacked outside an entrance to your complex. We did not know that there were women and children inside. We thought it was a simple cave."

"We demand blood payment. Even if Harbinger returned, it is our way."

"SILENCE!" a voice screamed out. Mizore turned and saw none but the Snow Priestess herself walking towards her. "Mizore, child, you caused this?"

"By accident. I already informed you of what had happened. The cave was the entrance to their breeding grounds. The collapse I triggered destroyed the interior of the grounds, apparently killing hundreds."

"Did The Harbinger tell you this," she paused as Mizore nodded, "I thought I felt a warp before his appearance. Chieftan, are all of your women dead?"

The yeti grumbled, "Half, none fallen in battle."

"I will not give you this girl as payment. We will offer assistance in rebuilding your breeding grounds so another collapse does not occur so easily. Furthermore, you will no longer be turned away from our village. There has been unease between our races for too long. I would have it ended."

"We feel same. However, we need help with births. Many times, pup dies. Will help?"

"Act as midwives, yes. We are very good at this process."

"Then is done. However when in mountains, this one does not stray close to homes."

"Can you make an exception for storms?"

"Hmm…will think. For now no. May later."

"Fair enough."

"Done." He turned to his fellow yetis and roared.

Mizore followed in step behind the Snow Priestess. "This is a very drastic change Mizore dear. He has not shown his face since the sealing of Alcuard."

"I thought that Moka's mother was involved in that. I've never heard of this man."

"He is Akasha's father..."

**A;n This is the intro of a New character. A thanks goes out to Phoenix Helix on this note. Over the past several months during and even before my writer's block, he and i had been hashing out a huge section of the story yet to come. He presented me with this OC who compliments my OC (earlier alluded to in an earlier chapter) by being the exact oposite ;) Once past the main section of this story involving the blood trials, a large portion of the story will be what Phoenix and i have disscused. He has a hell of a handle on things and constantly helps me sort my bs out in this story. Thanks man. Check out his profile too. He's got some great stories out ;)**


	14. Ch 14, Arc2 Fallen Angel

She could feel the rain on her skin. It trailed down her spine and caused a shiver to run through her. Her long white hair clung to her body, covering at least a small amount of her nudity. She was grateful that the rain no longer caused her pain. She could not stop.

Thoughts ran through her mind of her husband, of what once was hers. 'Still mine,' she thought as a crack of lightning shattered her reverie. She straightened the hunch in her shoulders, standing proud again. She could not stop.

Her feet ached. She was certain she was bleeding from them. A slight discomfort would not stop her, could not. The magics binding her to this monotony would not allow it until she was offered help.

'I will not be defeated by this. I am a vampress, heir to the throne of Akashiya. I will take my husband back. I am right. I always was.'

Ura-chan, you were never right. You assume yourself to be better than the man you fell in love with.

**No , I do not.**

Yes. By assuming you are always right, you assume you have no faults. What I see, feel even, inside of you is the opposite.

**That is not true.**

Yes it is, you slept with another man, a man you DIDN'T LOVE, BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO STUBBORN TO ACCEPT TSUKUNE'S PARENTS INTO YOUR CHILD'S LIFE!

**I want them raised to be proud of their heritage!**

Look what that got you. A broken family, a painful childhood, a mother who thought it was better to watch from afar instead of guiding her child, we nearly let Tsukune get killed a dozen times. Our friendships with the other girls; instead of asserting dominance, we could have lessened the blow.

**I wasn't the one who went nuts and got her ass banished.**

Suddenly, Ura-chan felt a weight pressing against her, her head was pounding, she felt like she had just gotten soundly beaten.

THAT ATTITUDE IS WHAT CAUSED IT. Sin paused for a moment and allowed the pressure to abate before continuing. We should have been more supportive of her. She was our friend. How would you have felt if she had won Tsukune's heart?

**I-I…**Ura-chan couldn't answer her. Suddenly an alarm triggered in her head. She stopped and looked around. Men were surrounding her. Her fighting instinct wasn't there. She couldn't move. She was paralyzed with fear.

"Well, well," one of the men, a smarmy little rat, said with a sneer, "Boys, look like we have a catch. This one's a solid ten."

"Do we get to play with her first?" another, larger man said. Much larger too. He towered over her.

She suddenly felt hands on her body. Her arm moved naturally, grabbing him by the wrist and twisting it. She was weak, only a bit stronger than a human. But she could still fight. She spun around and kicked out, catching another in the face. She desperately tried to pull around for another strike, but large arms encircled her, picking her up and squeezed the life out of her. She felt fists connecting with her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. A slap came across her face, shocking her even further.

"When you're his property, you better not fight back, else you're dead." The smarmy little man flipped out a pocket knife and placed it to her chest, not hard enough to pierce, just enough to get the point across.

She couldn't breathe. One wrong move and she could easily die.

**Tsukune…I-**

Suddenly, lights were flashing down the alley, a gunshot went off. The arms surrounding her dropped her, the knife point disappeared. Everything went dark as she saw feet approaching her.

* * *

"Poor girl. Attacked in the middle of the night like this." Kawajima shook his head as he knelt beside her. She was fine, too fine in fact. He held his flashlight up. Her skin was unblemished in any place. "Well, she ain't a hooker. Just wrong place at the very wrong time."

He picked her unconscious form up and placed her in the back of his squad car. He searched around for her clothing, but found nothing. He quickly grabbed a blanket from his trunk and covered her. Hopping into the driver seat, he looked back at her and started. Her white hair was slowly turning a…

"Strawberry pink? What the hell?" he thought to himself. He opened his phone and went to his contacts. He tabbed to the bottom, one that said; Never Call.

"Hey, Kieron, got one for you. Girl's hair went from white to strawberry pink. This something you'd be interested in?" He felt himself nodding as the man spoke. "Ten am? See you at the precinct."

Kawajima backed around and sped off to his precinct.

* * *

Omote awoke suddenly. Grey walls surrounded her pad. A heavy door sat at the front of the room. She jumped up and tried it. Locked. Looking around again she realized where she was. It was a cell. She quickly spotted a bundle of clothes on the floor next to the cot. They were simple. A fairly plain button up shirt and skirt. A pair of panties, but no bra.

'where are my-' she started to wonder but then remembered the previous night. It took all she had not to curl up and cry. She gathered herself and put the clothing on.

She sat back and started waiting. Time passed slowly for her. There was no visual stimulus, very little sound. She could vaguely feel Sin and Ura-chan fighting in the back of her mind. 'Must be left over effects from the seal. It's a lot better than last night.' She felt something pressing back at her suddenly.

Omo…hard…commun… Sin was trying to push through, but was having a hard time. She pushed to her a bit.

_Sin, you there?_

Yes, glad you can hear me now. You're a tough nut to crack.

_I think it's a residual effect from the seal. It was always difficult for Ura to communicate with me. She had to try very hard._

I see that now. Ill get the hang of it eventually, but for now, someone is coming. Someone very dangerous.

Moka stood up, she waited as she heard the door unlock. Outside stood a short, middle aged man, a police officer. 'This is the dangerous one?'

"Hello miss, are you feeling better?" The man said, "My name is Kawajima. I found you last night and brought you into the precinct. I'm sorry if the accommodations were lacking, but it's better than putting a naked girl into the drunk tank."

Moka blushed and looked down. "Thank you sir. Could, could I go now."

"Not quite. Come to the office, I booked you last night, it will take a few minutes of paperwork to get you out properly."

Moka followed him to a desk, surrounded by a dozen others. Kawajima had a small stack of papers on his desk. Several photos of his family adorned the cubicle walls. She sat down in across from him. He handed her a clipboard, pen and several sheets from the stack.

Going through them, she felt the magic from the blood trial forcing her to exempt several bits of information. Eventually, she handed the paperwork back to him. As he flipped through it, he gave her the occasional sidelong glance. After several minutes he tossed the clipboard back on to the desk.

"Moka. No last name. No date of birth. Not even a blood type." He rubbed at his eyes and sighed before continuing. "I'm guessing you aren't going to tell me what happened. Why you were walking through one of the most dangerous parts of Tokyo, in the rain, naked?"

"No sir, I cannot tell you."

"What's your family name?"

"I no longer have one."

He paused before answering, "You come from one of those really traditional families, don't you?"

"You could say that."

"Let me guess. You slept with another man outside your marriage and shamed your family."

That hit home for her. Tears started falling as she started to sob. Her head was bent, only her pink locks showing.

"There's someone coming to see you soon Moka-san. He works with family services. He'll be able to get you back on your feet." Suddenly, a shadow crossed her sight. She looked up, 'n=Not a shadow. Trench coat.' There was a tall man standing at the entrance to the cubicle. He was at least 6'6". Huge.

"Kawajima," the police officer turned, stood and shook the taller man's hand.

"Kieron, this is the girl I told you about. Her name is Moka."

The big man smiled down at her. It was a soft smile, one belonging on a face much older than his. He had a strong, chiseled face. His short black hair stuck out at odd angles. His eyes were what caught her attention though. They were black as night, standing out in stark contrast to the whites. A whisper rang through her min as she took the man's suddenly offered hand.

This is the dangerous one...

* * *

**A/n; Sorry, uploaded the wrong chapter. That chapter somehow got into the wrong folder. For those of you who read it, I hope you enjoyed it, thank you for the pm's alerting me. You got a look at a tidbit 50 chapters down the road. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**


	15. Ch15, Arc2, A Walk In The Park

He is the dangerous one… Sin's whisper echoed throughout her mind. She was afraid.

Omote took the offered hand. The man, Kieron, had a strong grip, but not forced.

"My name is Kieron Merrick. I'm and agent for the Family Services Agency. I am here to offer you some help." The sidelong glance he gave her took her interest. After a moment, she realized she hadn't answered.

"Are you sure you want to offer me help?"

Kieron smiled and nodded. "Yes, Moka. I would like to offer it."

"Then I would like to accept it. Thank you." She turned to Kawajima, "Thank you sir. You know how much you helped me last night." She lowered her head respectfully.

"Come Moka-san. We have much to arrange today," Kieron turned and started walking out, "Be sure to call if any others turn up, Kawajima." Moka quickly followed after him.

She trailed him slightly, to his side, but just behind him. People naturally parted around him as he moved, but seemed not to notice him, when normally he would be sticking out like a snowman on fire. Kieron never once broke stride, nor did he speak. She did not recognize this section of Tokyo. She continued following him though, trying to puzzle out what was going on.

* * *

After almost an hour, they reached a small park. An ice cream vendor was selling just a few feet from them. She recognized this place. Tsukune had taken her here on a hot summer day a year or two earlier. She had spilled her ice cream cone on her dress. That was before the arguments. Before… She stopped at the thought. She would not go down that road.

Everything went dark. Night slowly opened around her. She saw a figure sprint into the park. Besides him it was empty. "Tsukune."

She saw him stop and look around, as though lost in memory He opened his phone and made a call. He sat upon a park bench as he ended it. She saw his lips move, but could not hear him. Suddenly she felt a force, strong and familiar come into the park. A black whirlwind of flame spun out around her mother. She could see them talking. She could feel the anger roll off of him, then, suddenly, stop. He looked stunned as he answered an unknown question.

She saw Akasha leave, saw her sister pull up, Tsukune get in and them leave.

The vision ended just as quickly as it had started. She was standing next to a bench, the one Tsukune had sat on in the vision. Kieron was already sitting. He motioned for her to sit down next to him. "I never thought I'd see the day the daughter of Issa Akashiya would bow her head to a simple policeman."

Her eyes shot wide. This man knew. He knew about the Blood Trials.

"Of course I knew. I planned it."

"WHAT? You PLANNED for them to happen?"

"Calm down, I'm just fucking with you."

"What?"

"Actually no. I'm not. Kind of."

She reached over and grabbed him by the collar of his coat. "Answer me."

Kieron's smile evaporated. She was suddenly slammed inside her own mind. A third mirror had appeared that she was inside of. Merrick was instead taking the center spot.

"I'm glad I can talk to all three of you at once. Makes things much easier. I did plan for this encounter to occur. However, I did not plan to destroy your relationship. You fucked that up yourself."

This is not helping sir.

**For once I ****agree with you.**

Yeah, right. The noble Ura-chan, agreeing with me. I prostrate myself to you. Sin bent nearly to the floor, her arms thrown out wide.

**Good, you should know your place.**

Sin nearly leapt out of her mirror at Ura-chan. This didn't quite work. "Ladies, please. There is a point to this," Kieron spoke out.

I am sorry sir, it gets rather cramped in here.

Omote noticed Sin was rather on edge. This man was powerful.

"You have a greater destiny ahead of you. You and your husband both."

_Why isn't he here then? _

"He has his own path to walk. He isn't strong enough to do what he needs. Neither are you."

**What right do you have to judge us as such?**

"The right of a being far more ancient than this earth." An aura sprung up around the man, blackness as dark as death, streaked with white purer than the sun. "I like this world. It's much more fun to live in than most of the others."

"I was the one who freed your mother ten years ago. Through her, I have been watching you. You have a unique power, the blood of a Shinso. Unlike your mother and husband, the shinso never would have awoken in you, your father is also one due to shared blood from your mother. It made you stronger, but only that. To have it awaken truly, you actually have to be born human," Ura-chan's eyes shot wide. The knowledge that her mother was second born would rock any vampire. Merrick continued, "except for the fact that Akasha had shared her own blood with you. For some reason, one that I am sorry to admit I do not understand, the time Akasha spent inside Alucard changed her blood."

"You are the second shinso in history to have been subjected to the blood trials. However your mother's shinso, because it had fully awakened already, was not affected. The shinso in your blood was bound before it could fully awaken by your rosary. The blood trial did not completely remove your shinso blood because of its connection to the rosary. What I did not predict, was your appearance." He was looking straight at Sin.

"You provide a unique platform for your ability of a shinso. You will never regain your original strength. You will never again become a true vampire. Instead, you will become a new breed. You will retain your immortality. You will actually become harder to kill. You'll bleed and hurt like a normal human. But you will not die. Your body could be ripped apart, but will be able to regenerate."

Starting to pace, Merrick continued, "Beyond that, I can't tell you more. For now, let us return. Pink haired, you. What can I call you in here?"

"Omote."

"Come. It would be odd if a girl with strawberry pink hair suddenly turned white."

* * *

"What's going to happen now?" Moka asked as they continued walking.

"For now, you will take the help I have offered. You are going to be staying with some other people I have helped. They are human. It would be nice if they didn't learn about anything about us."

"Of course."

"The people you will be staying with are a young couple, a bit older than you. Her name is Kimiko Asanna. His is Todd. He's an American who moved here. They have a young girl, Kiki. They own a coffee shop, American style. Lots of people go there and they recently lost a waitress. You already have a job there. They are aware that there are some strange things about you, mostly the fact that your hair tends to change colors. They aren't going to ask questions past that."

"How will I handle if a customer asks."

"You'll have to figure that out on your own. There is the occasional monster in the area, though they shouldn't bother you. I'll be stopping in occasionally. Your apartment is two blocks down. There are plenty of things to do in the area. You'll be making above minimum wage, there may be the occasional task I have for you to, netting you some extra cash. Keep up in your training. Your strong for a human. Keep it that way."

"Anything else I need to know?"

"For now, no. Almost there."

"Merrick?"

"Hmmm?"

"What are you?"

They stopped just outside a coffee shop. This was the place. "What am I? Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

Merrick leaned in close. "I am a true demon. One older than this earth." He turned and opened the door to coffee shop, cutting off further conversation. Moka steeled herself as she walked in.


	16. Ch 16

A/n; New story out, they are vignettes from Careful what you ask for. They will likely not have any specific order and will usually not have a direct impact on the story. None will be written revealing major plot points until after they have arrived. Occasionally, vignettes will follow a short series. Hope you enjoy :D


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